Intellectual property under Biden; EUIPO data exclusive; service provider debut; and much more

Monday 18 January

The latest Office of US Trade Representative’s Notorious Markets List provided crucial intelligence for rights holders, with eight new physical markets added. Read more

IP offices in Australia, Malaysia, Portugal, Sint Maarten and South Africa announced new rules regarding filings, oppositions, extensions, digital services and in-person appointments in light of the ongoing pandemic. Read more

Plus:

• In-N-Out makes mincemeat of Hashtag Burgers (Australia)
• Court of Appeals finds likelihood of confusion between short marks in surprising decision (Turkey)

Tuesday 19 January

Tuesdays’ news digest discussed a Derby Pie trademark dispute, plain packaging in the Netherlands, Sandris Laganovskis joining the EUIPO, Global Icons becoming the worldwide licensing agent for Betty Boop, and much more. Read more

In a guest analysis, Bill Taylor, chief marketing officer at OpSec Security, explained why and how consumer trust should be placed at the heart of online brand protection efforts. Read more

Plus:

• IN v IN BAR: US nutrition company Weider successful in Singapore opposition proceedings (Singapore)
• This mash-up is not a place you’ll go: Seuss copyright will ‘live long and prosper’ (United States)

Wednesday 20 January

As USPTO Director Andrei Iancu said farewell to the office, trademark experts provided their wish list for his successor. Read more

After an unprecedented four years, WTR looked back at the brand-related highs and lows of the Trump administration. Read more

We reached out to experts in the trademark field to ask what President Biden’s priorities should be over the next four years. Read more

A spokesperson from the International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition explained why they expect the Biden administration to take an ‘evolution’ not ‘revolution’ approach towards IP policy and would urge it to build on efforts to fight fakes. Read more

Following news that Donald Trump is reportedly considering a launch of a new political venture called the ‘Patriot Party’, we examined the prior marks that could pose a “significant hurdle” to his plans. Read more

Plus:

• CNIPA clarifies that confusing colours can make a mark infringing (China)
• E-BOKS v EBOX: a trademark setback that e-Boks didn’t sign up for (Sweden)

Thursday 21 January

An online spat between two authors highlighted the brand risks associated with social media influencers and cancel culture. We reached out to one brand expert for more insight. Read more

Plus:

• Swissness – recent developments in the protection of the ‘Swiss’ brand (Switzerland)
• A not so EASY task after all: easyGroup’s EASY mark found to be devoid of distinctive character (United Kingdom)
• New copyright levy could impact the art world in Romania (International report: Romania)

Friday 22 January

A Beckham brand boost, USPTO leadership changes, Pearl Jam’s cease and desist to Pearl Jamm, and the EU General Court’s decision over HALLOUMI and BBQLOUMI were among the stories featured in Friday’s news round-up. Read more

Despite a tumultuous year, trademark application volumes at the EUIPO hit a record high in 2020 – as this week’s data analysis revealed. Read more

We announced the dual launch of Stobbs IP’s iaidō and /iambic/, which aim to match business intelligence with a case management system infrastructure to provide innovation that the service provider landscape is currently lacking. Read more

Plus

• No likelihood of confusion between BIM FREELANCE and BIM READY due to relevant public’s high level of attention (European Union)
• Vans successfully registers iconic ‘Checkerboard Slip-On’ design for trainers (Peru)

Saturday 23 January

Amid recent calls for sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics to leverage their influence over Chinese authorities, Saturday’s opinion piece reflected on how the perception of brands changed irrevocably in 2020, leading to greater expectations on corporate social responsibility and social action. Read more