1. Background In June 2008, China announced the Outline of National IP Strategy (“IP Strategy”), which set up a roadmap for China to become a country of high level of IP creation, utilization and protection by 2020. As a key part of the IP Strategy, China committed to carry out a number of judicial reforms…
The Spanish Supreme Court has concluded that it is not appropriate to waive the Court jurisdiction from the defendant’s domicile (in this case Italy), which had ruled against the claimant, by creating a link with another entity that it is domicile in another European country (in this case Spain), when that connection is not sufficiently…
In the affordable luxury segment one finds the highest growth rate within the Class 14-goods at the moment. As a result we see a lot of new starts-ups in this business – one of them trying to stand out by riding on the coat-tails of the market leader in the affordable luxury segment: Pandora A/S….
A federal district court in Los Angeles erred in concluding that Solid 21’s registered word mark RED GOLD was invalid because the mark was a generic term for jewelry items that were made of red gold, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has decided. The lower court erred in excluding testimony from Solid…
It is one of the quirks of the EUTM system that while rights can be granted and challenged centrally at the EUIPO, they can only be enforced through the national courts of EU member states. And whilst Scotland is not (yet) an independent nation, or a member state of the EU, it possesses its own…
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board did not err in refusing to register the mark EMPORIUM ARCADE BAR and Design, absent a disclaimer of the word “EMPORIUM,” in addition to the disclaimed term “ARCADE BAR,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has determined. Substantial evidence supported the Board’s finding that EMPORIUM was…
The British people have received confirmation that Art. 50 is to be triggered on Wednesday 29 March, in line with the timetable previously put forward by Theresa May (“PM”). Whilst this does not address the concerns of many Bremainers (?) and naysayers, it certainly marks a point from which negotiations can progress. This commentator welcomes…
Being a fashion company is not easy, in two ways. First, you have to be careful what to print on your clothing, even when this is meant as decorative artwork. On the other hand, you have to be watchful that your trademark is not printed on products of competitors, under the pretense of – the…
World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft takes place within the fantasy Warcraft world of Azeroth. Alone or together with others the player has to solve quests in order to level up and have more possibilities. Since some of these quests…
In the latest judgement of the General Court (hereafter GC) on Geographical Indications (hereafter GIs or GI) T 510/15 TOSCORO (versus the GI TOSCANO) the mark applied for was declared partially invalid. In the European Union (hereafter EU) GIs for wine, spirits, agricultural products and foodstuffs are protected as sui generis intellectual property rights that…
