In his latest column, AI expert Cameron Shackell considers recent developments in AI and neuroscience, and the major implications for the trademark industry.
In our latest round-up, we look at JACK AND VICTOR winning UKIPO approval despite pushback from Jack Daniel’s, and much more.
The draft amendment will be welcomed by IP owners and practitioners, who have long been calling for the introduction of a system allowing for the submission of letters of consent.
Conventional 2D trademarks that are deemed indistinct can obtain distinctiveness with the addition of unique features. For instance, a mark containing the single letter ‘M’ in plain form is deemed to be indistinctive; however, if the letter is sufficiently stylised, such as in the case of the golden arches symbol of McDonald’s, it can obtain distinctiveness. It has, therefore, been debated whether 3D marks in similar situations can be treated similarly. The laws governing the issue have evolved over time in China.
02 November 2022
A new research paper is urging more research into how neuroscience could transform modern trademark law, and especially around the functionality of brands.
25 October 2022
Unregistered signs are protected under Articles 13 to 15 of the Unfair Competition Law in Greece and may constitute relative grounds for refusal. In particular, protection is offered to signs that are deemed to have become a distinctive feature of the goods or services that they cover.
21 October 2022
For more than three decades, entertainment companies have relied on Rogers v Grimaldi to insulate themselves from Lanham Act claims when a mark or name is used in an entertainment title. The court in Rogers held that the Lanham Act did not apply to the use of celebrity names in a film title “unless [1] the title has no artistic relevance to the underlying work whatsoever, or, [2] if it has some artistic relevance, unless the title explicitly misleads as to the source or content of the work” (Rogers, paragraph 999).
21 October 2022
In February 2019, the Administrative Procedures Law became effective to unify procedures and recourses across the executive branch. The new law affects many procedures managed by the RIP, benefiting trademark holders providing certainty, shorter terms for government officials to resolve petitions filed, extensions of time to file documents and setting sanctions to government officials that do not observe the new terms, among other things.
21 October 2022
Registration and enforcement of trademark rights in Mexico is regulated by a framework of local laws, regulations, treaties and precedents on specific legal loopholes or procedural matters. Prosecution of applications, protection and maintenance of trademark registrations, as well as dispute procedures, are administered in accordance with the Mexican Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (the IP Law), which entered into effect on 5 November 2020.
21 October 2022
For brand owners, it makes sense to identify the business opportunity first and secure deals before thinking of brand protection. However, in an African context, it is prudent to secure protection of trademarks sooner rather than later.
21 October 2022
Distinctive signs are principally governed by the Trademark Act, which was partially modified by Royal Decree-Law 23/2018 to incorporate Directive (EU) 2015/2436. This is complemented by Royal Decree 687/2002, which was modified by Royal Decree 306/2019 to adapt to the Trademark Act as amended. At an international level, the Trademark Act has adapted Spanish law to the general legal framework established within the international community.
21 October 2022
The Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property does not provide for protection of unregistered trademarks, the only exception being the protection of well-known marks as prescribed by the Paris Convention. When no registration exists, no trademark rights can be invoked. Timely registration is therefore of the essence.
21 October 2022
In Poland, a trademark can be applied for and owned by a natural or legal person, or by organisational entities that are not legal persons but in which a statute vests legal capacity. Persons whose place of residence or registered office is not located within the territory of the European Union, a European Free Trade Association member state, a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland must act through a patent agent, attorney or legal counsel.
21 October 2022
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