Industry: Fashion & textiles
United States plummets down IP rankings table; cost and enforcement frustrations cited
The fifth edition of the Global Intellectual Property Index was published today, with sentiment towards the United States’ IP regime taking a clear turn towards the negative. Dropping 14 places to rank joint 24th among the 43 jurisdictions assessed, the United States rated particularly poorly among users for cost effectiveness.
14 June 2016
Toyota hits out at trademark misuse as Brexit campaigning enters home stretch
In less than two weeks the UK electorate will vote on whether the country should remain a member of the European Union. The campaign from both sides has intensified as polling day approaches. Yesterday Toyota became embroiled in the debate, hitting out at the unauthorised use of its trademarks by the ‘leave’ camp.
10 June 2016
Study reveals the prevalence of fake luxury goods on Instagram, and the evolving tactics of counterfeiters
New research has found that 20% of Instagram posts about luxury fashion brands featured counterfeit or illicit products. The report calls for a comprehensive international strategy to fight the prevalence of fake goods online, but the usual roadblocks remain, meaning that the status quo will not change any time soon.
09 June 2016
Trademark suits down as research reveals most litigious companies (and the firms that represent them)
New data from Lex Machina has highlighted a fall in trademark litigation filings in the US, with case numbers in the first quarter of this year at a seven-year low. If this trend continues, it will ring alarm bells in law firms that rely on contentious work for their revenue streams.
27 May 2016
WTR Industry Award winners revealed at celebration of in-house excellence
Following last night's champagne reception and presentations at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, we can now reveal (for those who were not following the action on Twitter) the winners at this year’s <i>WTR</i> Industry Awards. Among those honoured were teams from American Red Cross, Enterprise Holdings, Grupo Bimbo, Moncler, Red Bull and Verizon Communications.
25 May 2016
Artistic works are ‘capable of being registered’ as design
The High Court of Delhi has dismissed a suit for copyright infringement under Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act 1957, which provides that once a copyright in a design is applied to an article by an industrial process more than 50 times, ownership of the copyright ceases because the copyright resulting in creation of the article is capable of being registered under the Designs Act 2000.
23 May 2016
JUMPMAN prevails in a different type of court
Nike has won the latest round of a long-running dispute over its ability to register the sign JUMPMAN. The decision calls into question the value and wisdom of EU trademark protection for smaller businesses trading in only one member state.
13 May 2016
No confusion between Polo Ralph Lauren and United States Polo Association
In <i>Polo/Lauren Company LP v United States Polo Association</i>, the Singapore High Court has upheld a decision of the Trademark Registry adjudicator who had refused an opposition by Polo Ralph Lauren against a trademark application by United States Polo Association.
06 May 2016
Could China’s economic woes lead to a counterfeiting time bomb?
As has been widely reported in recent months, the wheels appear to have fallen off of China’s economic juggernaut (or at least to have picked up a few punctures). As might be expected, the slowdown is leading to a tightening of consumer purse strings, particularly when it comes products and services sold in higher price brackets – including, notably, luxury goods. For brands, the concern will be that buyers now turn to fake alternatives.
29 April 2016