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The US Patent and Trademark Office has announced its opposition to the inclusion of IP law in the proposed Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments.

ICANN has come under fire for excluding the full community in its exploration of the General Data Protection Regulation’s impact on the WHOIS system.

The European Court of Justice recently delivered its judgment in Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto v EU Intellectual Property Office. It overturned the EU General Court and held that the law on geographical indications (GIs) is governed solely by EU law, meaning that national laws cannot supplement or alter the level of protection of GIs.

The EU Commission has come under fire for failing to to publish a €360,000 study of the economic costs of piracy – the report was only released after a member of the European Parliament obtained a copy following a freedom of information request. The report suggests that piracy has little negative effect on sales of copyrighted material, although the findings are slightly more nuanced than that headline conclusion. While it does not directly address the consequences of trademark infringement, it will stir up debate about the economic costs of counterfeiting.

The EU Commission has released its position paper on the treatment of IP rights after the United Kingdom completes its exit from the European Union. While a short document, it provides an important insight into the trademarks regime that EU negotiators want to work towards. However, some aspects could prove divisive.

In March, the UK government triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, officially commencing negotiations for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Trademark owners now face a number of scenarios

The European Commission’s latest annual report into EU customs enforcement has found that the level of suspected counterfeit articles detained by authorities rose by 15% year-on-year, with the number of applications for action up by a startling 59% across the same time period. While the estimated value of the detailed articles totals nearly €650 million, one expert claims the report could be massively underestimating the scope of the problem.

It is now a week since the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union, with the past seven days characterised by market uncertainty and political upheaval. To cut through the confusion, we have put together an infographic that illustrates the potential impact the decision could have for trademark practitioners in the UK and across the world.

In Philip Morris Brands SARL v Secretary of State for Health the European Court of Justice considered a request from the High Court of England and Wales for a preliminary ruling on various questions relating to the validity of the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

The latest polls indicate that a British exit – or Brexit – could be the result of the upcoming UK referendum on EU membership. The impact of such a vote on the trademark community has not featured in the political debate. Yet if next week’s vote comes down in favour of Brexit, there will be significant implications for trademark owners and law firms.

The unusual case of European Dynamics Luxembourg v the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) was decided in April 2016. The EUIPO had been targeted by a serial user of the European court system, Greek IT company Evropaïki Dynamiki, along with its subsidiaries. When unsuccessful in tenders, Evropaïki Dynamiki often challenged the results before the European courts.

Advocate General Wathelet has rendered his opinion in Irina Nikolajeva v OÜ Multi Protect in response to a request for a preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice in regards to the interpretation of Articles 9(3) and 102(1) of the Community Trademark Regulation.

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.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the new EU directive on tobacco products is valid, meaning that the extensive standardisation of packaging, the future EU-wide prohibition on menthol cigarettes and upcoming special rules for electronic cigarettes are lawful. However, tobacco industry commentators have hit back, arguing that the ruling does not necessarily give the green light to plain packaging.

EURid, the registry for '.eu' domain names, has announced that in June 2016 it will launch domain name registrations under '.ею', the Cyrillic version of '.eu'. This will enable registrants to apply for internationalised domain names in Cyrillic script taking the form of 'пример.ею'.