Small business owner takes on royal couple; top 25 trademark industry influencers revealed; China filings continue to soar; and much more

Monday 1 March

A week after WTR uncovered a massive fraud and money laundering case in Pakistan involving the targeting of USPTO users, experts called for urgent action to identify those potentially affected. Read more

EUIPO data revealed that China has become the number one filing country for EU trademarks (up a staggering 89% year on year), with Huawei named the top filer. But the rise in Chinese applications is part of a long-term trend. Read more

Plus:

• Full Federal Court: don’t count descriptive elements out (Australia)
• Bombay High Court: owner of YOGI marks entitled to statutory protection within specific class (India)

Tuesday 2 March

Newly published WIPO data revealed that the number of international trademark applications made through the Madrid System decreased slightly in 2020. With Novartis and Huawei topping the list of applicants, WIPO director general Daren Tang outlined a number of future focuses. Read more

Tuesday’s news digest saw the IP Hall of Fame nominations underway, the USPTO reflecting on the future of designs, Mr Potato Head going gender-neutral, Beyond Meat signing new licensing deals, and much more. Read more

We broke the news that an entity representing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is pursuing legal action against a small business owner in the Philippines in relation to the couple’s Archewell brand. Read more

Plus:

• Cloudy outcome despite identical trademark (International)
• Nigeria’s Trademark Opposition Tribunal finally set in motion (Nigeria)

Wednesday 3 March

WTR sat down with the team behind Venable’s newly launched tech-driven naming service, which quickly provides ‘already cleared’ naming options to marketers and brand development professionals. Read more

The Filipino business owner embroiled in a trademark battle with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave an exclusive interview with WTR, describing the dispute as a “duel to the death”. Read more

Unified Patents has launched new subsidiary Unified Brands, which aims to combat counterfeiters on behalf of SMEs on a ‘no cost’ basis. We caught up with the company’s chief operating officer to learn more. Read more

Finnegan’s chief recruitment and professional development officer, Tim Henderson, provided in-depth insight into the firm’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion. Read more

Plus:

• Supreme Court: ‘zombies’ do exist in New Zealand after all (New Zealand)
• Does the use of a trademark on a book cover qualify as infringement? (Turkey)

Thursday 4 March

We reported on the latest covid-19 measures to be implemented at the UK Intellectual Property Office, the Jamaican Intellectual Property Office and the Czech Republic Industrial Property Office. Read more

In an exclusive guest post, representatives from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office discussed the agency’s innovative non-core tools and services for trademark users – and those planned for the future. Read more

In our inaugural WTR long read, we identified the top 25 industry influencers that we believe are set to shape the trademark landscape over the next couple of years. Read more

Plus:

• Madagascar: the air of mystery extends to trademarks (Madagascar)
• Fashion boutique ordered to pay exemplary fine for copying Burberry pattern (Peru)
• A brand owner’s guide to Africa’s regional IP agreements (International report: Africa)
• How UDRP proceedings are helping brands tackle punysquatting (International report: Domain name policing and enforcement)
• UK High Court upholds UKIPO decision to prevent registration of GEEKSTORE based on unregistered GEEKCORE (International report: United Kingdom)

Friday 5 March

Friday’s news round-up considered a groundbreaking report on intellectual property in Mexico, the end of the USPTO specimen protest email programme, INTA’s International Women’s Day events, the UK debut of Amazon Fresh, and much more. Read more

Our latest update tracking the impact of covid-19 on major ecosystems showed that top markets are faring better than expected, with major registers off to a solid start this year according to early trademark data. Read more

Following Philip Morris Korea’s success in a long-running tax dispute, trademark experts explained the importance of distinguishing the kinds of intellectual property that royalty payments are for when importing raw materials into South Korea. Read more

Plus:

• Cognac fends off genericide attack in opposition proceedings (China)
• There’s no sugarcoating it: Pocky’s cookie design trade dress is functional (United States)

Saturday 6 March

Saturday’s opinion column argued that although filings from China will not slow any time soon, they may shift in focus, meaning that IP offices must plan for a future that looks even more different. Read more

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