Behind the scenes at Lego; brand backlash over Black Lives Matter messaging; Yuppo counterfeit investigation; exclusive Chinese court data; and much more
Everything we covered on WTR over the past seven days – and all you need to know from the world of trademarks to set yourself up for the start of another busy week.
Monday 1 June
WTR sat down with the new president of the European Communities Trademark Association to get the inside track on the organisation’s priorities and how it is maintaining its mission in a covid-19 world. Read more here
In-depth analysis of judgments issued by Chinese courts last year suggested that foreign parties may actually have a greater chance of success than domestic parties in almost all venues. Read more here
Tuesday 2 June
John Oliver’s UFC trademark brawl, Brighton FC criticised over ALBION filing, a Nestlé re-brand and Amazon's latest pharmaceutical bid all featured in Tuesday’s news digest. Read more here
WTR examined whether Trump’s executive order to make social media platforms liable as publishers could change how brand owners bring bad actors to justice. Read more here
In our latest opinion column, we looked at the brand backlash suffered by companies perceived to be exploiting the Black Lives Matter cause. Read more here
Wednesday 3 June
Exclusive 2019 data revealed the best Chinese courts for plaintiffs looking to secure damages in a trademark dispute. Read more here
As the covid-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe, we outlined the latest developments in national IP office processes. Read more here
We spoke to the academic behind a recent study calling for a shake-up of geographical indications to forge a path towards a universal trademark system. Read more here
After Europol conducted its most successful exercise against counterfeit pesticides to date, the European Crop Protection Association revealed the role that its member companies played in the operation. Read more here
Thursday 4 June
Quality King Distributors Inc’s Jessica Elliott Cardon highlighted three contractual provisions that brand owners can use in influencer agreements to maintain control over social media content and timelines in the event of a crisis. Read more here
Arturo Ishbak Martínez, Lego Group’s first senior counsel for Latin America, revealed what has kept him busy for the past 12 months and how the company approaches brand protection in the region. Read more here
A WTR investigation found that Chinese image network Yupoo remains a popular haven for counterfeiters. In response, a Yupoo representative claimed that the company respects IP rights and cannot be blamed for fakes promoted on its platform. Read more here
Friday 5 June
Analysis revealed that Australia’s filing data is an early indicator that IP recovery is under way, but the government must still deal with escalating tensions with China and the country’s first recession in nearly 29 years. Read more here
INTA calling for racial equality, ‘.amazon’ being added to the Domain Name System, criticism over an application for the name of an indigenous people in Japan and Deus Ex Machina taking on Hollywood giants were among the stories in Friday’s news round-up. Read more here
Saturday 6 June
From the WTR archive presented a selection of articles exploring how some of the world’s leading brands have gone about creating a consistent narrative and positioned intellectual property at the centre of business strategy. Read more here
Legal updates and international reports
Plus, we published 10 legal updates and four international reports examining key trademark decisions and developments from around the globe:
- Trademark Office issues first opposition decisions since change in law (Argentina)
- Appointed person does not accommodate application for HH HOTELS (United Kingdom)
- How will supply chain and distribution route disruption affect IP managers? (International)
- General Court confirms that Community design for wood-splitting tool is invalid (European Union)
- Supreme Court establishes criteria for application of UCPA’s ‘catch-all’ provision (South Korea)
- The limitations of the UDRP in dealing with factually complex cases (International)
- Lidl partially successful on appeal in GREEN CYCLES case (European Union)
- Google victorious in Iranian domain name dispute (Iran)
- BMW successfully prevents use of DMW for electric rickshaws (India)
- Gabrielle is not Chanel's, according to the appointed person (United Kingdom)
- The impact of covid-19 on IP rights prosecution in Cape Verde (Africa)
- Call Me! CIPO rings up an enhanced telephone amendment practice for trademarks (Canada)
- How to manage the rights to well-known trademarks (Russia)
- Covid-19 update – suspension of legal terms in court proceedings and compulsory official filings in Turkey (Turkey)