Messi brand power; Cleveland Guardians rebrand dispute; Meredith Corp portfolio analysis; 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.
The Long Read
OLN IP Services Limited’s Benjamin Choi provided an insider perspective of the Hong Kong branding landscape, including exclusive advice for overseas rights holders.
Monday 9 August
We unveiled the enhanced version of this year’s WTR 300, which includes in-depth profiles on the world’s leading corporate trademark professionals.
Consortium for Common Food Names senior director Shawna Morris considered the effects of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on geographical indications over the past 12 months.
Lionel Messi owns more trademark registrations than any other footballer, WTR analysis revealed, as we assessed the IP implications of his departure from FC Barcelona.
Plus:
- General Court decision highlights risks of using mark in form differing from the one registered (European Union)
- IP Vietnam issues guidance on deadline extensions amid covid-19 pandemic (Vietnam)
Tuesday 10 August
Amazon and GoPro filing a counterfeit lawsuit, Aldi trolling Marks & Spencer, Manchester United being renamed in a popular video game, and much more featured in Tuesday’s news digest.
ICANN pushed back on calls for it to act on the Trademark Clearinghouse practice of protecting words extracted from design and composite marks.
Plus:
- Seizures carried out in Paraguay’s provinces during the covid-19 pandemic (Paraguay)
- Ninth Circuit: don’t count your Lamborghinis before your trademark is in use (United States)
Wednesday 11 August
Alphabet and Apple outperformed other tech brands in this month’s WTR Brand Elite indices analysis.
Failure to function has become a “muddled doctrine” and an examination overhaul is needed at the USPTO, argued the author of a new trademark law study.
Plus:
- Delhi High Court clarifies position on arbitrability of trademark disputes (India)
- Extension of TRIPS general transition period for least developed countries: impact on Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (International)
Thursday 12 August
The IP offices of Brunei and the Philippines responded to rising covid-19 case numbers.
The Cleveland Guardians rebrand snafu left sports brand experts scratching their heads.
Plus:
- General Court: Framery’s mobile workspace lacks individual character in view of state of the art (European Union)
- Owner of MI and MI-8 marks successfully invalidates MI-8MCƂ for helicopters (Lithuania)
- Gold for the win – Supreme Court upholds protection for Lindt bunny (International report: Germany)
- Survey as evidence in trademark proceedings (International report: Poland)
Friday 13 August
Huawei and Li-Ning were named the strongest Chinese brands, as New Balance sued Michael Kors and EasyGroup settled its EasyFly dispute in Friday’s news round-up.
We took a deep dive into the portfolio of the world’s second largest licensor – Meredith Corp.
Plus:
- Is TRAUMAGEL really too similar to TRAUMEEL? (New Zealand)
- Delhi High Court finds that it has territorial jurisdiction based on sale of infringing goods on third-party e-commerce platforms accessible from Delhi (India)
Saturday 14 August
Brand professionals are left in a tight spot as price becomes the primary factor in purchasing IP services, according to this week’s Saturday opinion column.
WTR Special Report: Inside in-house operations
WTR’s latest Special Report, “Inside in-house operations: how to build world-class trademark functions and portfolios”, takes a deep dive into portfolio, brand and in-house team management – with insight from experts at companies including Facebook, FIFA, Novartis, Verizon and Vodafone.