Trademark filings may be down across Europe, but corporate counsel and private practitioners are insisting that their activities are holding steady in the face of the global economic crisis.
The World Trade Organization has published its panel decision on the dispute raised by the United States over China’s alleged failure to comply with a number of requirements in the TRIPs Agreement.
The Saudi Arabia Customs Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with a fraud and counterfeiting-detection company.
The Danish Patent and Trademark Office has laid off 35 members of staff after seeing a slump in applications, a move indicating that national offices could be hit by the global recession.
Virtual worlds are seen by many as the next frontier in technological development. Several low-profile disputes over intellectual property in virtual worlds have settled, but a US lawsuit focusing on trademark infringement could be the first to go to court. And it may even rewrite trademark law.
As OHIM releases figures showing that the number of CTM registrations have so far defied the economic crisis by rising in 2008, the European Communities Trademark Association has called on OHIM to distribute its excess fees across national offices.
The German Federal Supreme Court has referred a fundamental question to the ECJ in its eagerly awaited decisions on three landmark Google AdWords cases.
OHIM is encouraging infrequent CTM applicants to research the most cost-efficient payment method following complaints of double bank charges.
The Section of Intellectual Property Law of the American Bar Association has written to the newly inaugurated President Obama, calling for a more experienced director of the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The Singapore legal services market is set to open up following the government’s decision to grant qualifying foreign law practice licences to six international law firms. Although the firms are likely to focus their expansion efforts on banking and finance, WTR uncovers that the possibility of strengthening IP practices in the region could prove equally as enticing.
Speaking exclusively to WTR, Richard Heath, the new president of INTA, has confirmed that the organization will continue to promote IP investment as means of driving the global economy out of the downturn.
The first application to the United Kingdom’s new Company Names Tribunal has reached its conclusion in favour of the claimant Coca-Cola, which has praised the new system.
Senior in-house trademark practitioners have said the global recession should not adversely affect their practices, despite the results of a new survey revealing that almost half of all companies reduced marketing budgets in 2008.
Over 80% of the world’s counterfeit goods originate from China, according to figures published by the US Customs and Border Protection team. The stark news comes despite the recent smashing of a major software piracy ring and increased anti-counterfeiting measures.
Four key national offices have withdrawn from the optional national search service offered to Community trademark applicants via OHIM, prompting criticism that it is becoming an increasingly two-tier system.
