A week behind the scenes at the EUIPO; “catastrophic” marketing restrictions warning; independent regulator for Canada agents; and much more

The Long Read

Worrying drops in filing levels followed by record highs have made for an eventful year at the EUIPO. WTR’s Trevor Little considered how these and other events are affecting the IP ecosystem in this week’s long read. Read more

Monday 28 June

The EUIPO reflected on the development of the European Union Intellectual Property Network, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year. Read more

Target came out the big winner this month as WTR Brand Elite stocks continued their upward momentum. Read more

Proof Authentication CEO Dan McKinnon expanded on the “Holy Grail” of authentication technology and how consumer demand will shape the market. Read more

Plus:

• Say cheese! Cyprus not smiling after failed Halloumi invalidity challenge (European Union)
• Legitimate interests behind passive holding (International)

Tuesday 29 June

A major new study from Brand Finance warned that marketing restrictions across the alcohol, confectionery, savoury snacks and sugary drinks industries could result in a $521 billion loss to businesses. Read more

Tuesday’s news round-up saw Kanye West suing Walmart over fake Yeezys, Dior winning protection for its Book Tote bag, Digip raising €2 million in funding, and much more. Read more

The EUIPO expanded on how innovation is harnessed and utilised at the office, and what offerings users can expect in future. Read more

A new report on counterfeiting in the beauty and personal care industry revealed that one in five consumers would boycott a brand if they unintentionally purchased fake goods bearing its name. Read more

A Filipino brand owner spoke exclusively to WTR after securing an Archewell-related trademark associated with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Read more

Plus:

• General Court: actress and singer Miley Cyrus in entitled to use name as a trademark (European Union)
• Trademarks and prime ministers’ nicknames: AUNTY HELEN and JACINDARELLA (New Zealand)

Wednesday 30 June

The EUIPO outlined its various alternative dispute resolution offerings, explaining how to turn disputes into opportunities. Read more

Leading trademark practitioners discussed how the Chinese IP regime is improving for brand owners and what the key areas of focus should be next. Read more

Experts praised the Canadian government’s creation of an independent regulator for IP agents, despite concerns that it could “add to the cost of practising”. Read more

Plus:

• Tencent wins final-instance trial in HONOR OF KINGS dispute (China)
• Federal Administrative Court confirms that ECOSHELL is descriptive (Switzerland)

Thursday 1 July

The EUIPO expanded on its mission to support SMEs, including the benefits of the Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund and pro bono personalised consultation.  Read more

The IP offices of Slovenia, South Africa and Zambia issued a series of announcements regarding office closures and correspondence requirements in light of the pandemic. Read more

WTR’s Global Leaders shared personal insights into how they got to where they are today and advice to those considering a similar career path. Read more

The backlog of pending trademark applications at the USPTO surpassed 900,000 for the first time, highlighting the monumental challenge facing the registry. Read more

Plus:

• MONTANA - distinctive furniture brand or descriptive geographical indication? (European Union)
• 10th Circuit falls into line on exceptionality doctrine in Lanham Act cases (United States)
• Punishment of reverse domain name hijacking – a fair reprimand or far too lenient? (Industry report: Domain name policing and enforcement)

Friday 2 July

Coca-Cola winning a precedential TTAB decision, adidas and Thom Browne clashing over the three-stripe mark, the EUIPO breaking a trademark application record, and much more featured in Friday’s news digest. Read more

While more SMEs are seeking trademark protection, WTR data analysis revealed that a lot of new companies are still not benefitting from these rights. Read more

For the final piece in our series of exclusive EUIPO updates, the office turned its attention to the geographical indication landscape. Read more

Trademark experts around the world set out an eight-point checklist for what rights holders and e-commerce sites can do to take meaningful action against online counterfeiting. Read more

Plus:

• A new chapter at the CNIPA: cracking down on trademark squatting (China)
• Italian fashion brand recovers trademark rights in South Korea (South Korea)

Saturday 3 July

As the National Collegiate Athletic Association adopts a new approach to image rights, our Saturday opinion column argued that student-athlete brand building is about to step up like never before. Read more

WTR Special Report: The rise of mass filers and register clutter

In April we launched the first of our new WTR Special Reports, focusing on the rise of mass filers and their impact on the trademark ecosystem. Scrutinising the data behind the filing activities of Michael Gleissner, Ikuhiro Ueda and Chinese entities, we explored the real-world effects of these on brand protection and how rights holders and registries can mitigate their impact. Read more