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Hermès successfully prevents registration of copycat mark

China - A recent decision of the TRAB involving various HERMES marks has shown the importance of establishing that there is a connection in the minds of consumers between a foreign name in Latin characters and its Chinese transliteration, as the scope of protection of one mark can be extended to another mark, and vice versa. Full text

AFNIC to release one and two-character domain names by end of year

France - AFNIC, the French domain name registry, has announced its plans to release one and two-character domain names. This release will concern domain names consisting of one/two letters and/or numbers under all the extensions managed by AFNIC. A consultation period was opened to allow the public to voice their opinion on the procedure to put in place for the release of these domain names. Full text

Foreign expression held to have distinctive character

Greece - The Administrative Court of First Instance has reversed a decision of the Administrative Trademark Committee in which the latter had refused to register the mark COMPAGNIA DELL’ ARABICA for coffee on the grounds that it lacked distinctive character. Among other things, the court found that the foreign expression 'compagnia dell’ Arabica' was not widely known among the average Greek consumers. Full text

Latest blogs

USPTO responds to trademark bullying report criticism

United States - The issue of trademark bullying remains divisive and the USPTO has written to WTR to respond to criticism of follow-up activities to the Department of Commerce’s report on litigation tactics. The split in opinions illustrates the continued challenge in creating a coherent industry stance on bullying. Read blog
Trevor Little | May 20 2013

How Chinese brands can overcome low awareness and stigma among US consumers

International - A third of US consumers would not purchase a branded product if they knew the brand belonged to a Chinese company, a recent survey has found. The findings underline the difficulty that Chinese brand owners face in penetrating the US market – so what can be done from a trademark perspective to gain a foothold? Read blog
Jack Ellis | May 16 2013

MARQUES gives gTLDs green light in debate on safeguards

International - As ICANN’s public comment period to solicit input on how the GAC advice regarding additional safeguards applicable to broad categories of new gTLD strings should be addressed drew to a close, there was a rush of submissions. As a representative of all brand owners, MARQUES has urged a compromise that will allow the online expansion to follow current timelines. Read blog
Trevor Little | May 15 2013