The concept of Metaverse as an online framework for economic interoperability was born in and around 2020. Since then, giant companies all over the world ― especially in the IT, entertainment and fashion businesses ― have begun to launch products and solutions related to the ever developing Metaverse. Fashion brands, artists and entertainers, among others, … Continue Reading
Back in 2020, the famous Chinese brew company Tsingtao Beer filed an administrative complaint for trademark infringement against a smaller Chinese competitor for the use of recycled Tsingtao beer bottles. The smaller brewery was filling legitimately recycled Tsingtao bottles with their own beer. The recycled bottles did not bear the Tsingtao labels and marks, which … Continue Reading
The Spanish government has approved a draft bill to reform the three main industrial property laws: the Trademark Law, the Industrial Design Law and the Patent Law. The purpose of the changes are to order to solve various problems that industrial property right holders face today in Spain.… Continue Reading
In June 2021 the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation (Shenzhen AMR) issued the first ever provisions on administrative injunctions against the infringement of a design patents, including online infringements. It was a revolutionary provision. Without need to prove irreparable damage, a right holder could seek quick relief by filing a simple administrative complaint. Now … Continue Reading
On February 5, 2022, China acceded to Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The Hague provisions will become effective in China on May 5, 2022. China has been negotiating such accession for a few years, and it was partly anticipated by certain measures of harmonization introduced with the latest amendment to the patent law in … Continue Reading
On June 21, 2021, the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation (Shenzhen AMR) issued the first ever administrative injunction against the alleged infringement of a design patent. The decision was based on a set of local IP regulations implemented in 2019 to increase protection of intellectual property (IP) rights associated with the booming local innovation in … Continue Reading
In the last of his recent series of blogs on IP in China, Dr. Paolo Beconcini discusses amendments expanding the scope of design protection in China and predicts a new flood of “junk” design applications. He discusses the basis and requirements for Chinese design patents, including issues relating to functionality. He also discusses some structural issues that … Continue Reading
On July 3, 2020, China released the second draft amendments to the Patent Law. This second draft introduces significant changes to both the current Patent Law and the 2019 draft amendment. It also comes at a time when China is introducing significant legislative and judicial changes to other key IP rights, like new criteria for … Continue Reading
In its November 13, 2019 decision in Columbia Sportswear v. Seirus, the Federal Circuit addressed the issue of whether the presence of a logo in the accused design should be considered when assessing infringement of a design patent and found that the district court erred in granting summary judgement without considering the impact of a … Continue Reading
Consistency and repetition are important in building a brand. Or are they? The digital economy is evolving so quickly that it has pushed brand owners to challenge trademark fundamentals by adopting trademarks that evolve as well. Proponents of such shifting trademarks, called “fluid” marks, believe that they attract the attention of potential consumers, increase brand … Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce that Paolo Beconcini, Consultant and IP expert in our Hong Kong office, will be speaking at the International Trademark Association’s conference in London on Tuesday 27 February 2018 on the topic of multi-national design enforcement. Paolo, along with other keynote speakers, will be considering the remedies available in several key … Continue Reading
Half of the world’s population is now online. That’s around 4 billion people worldwide with access to the internet. Little wonder then that intellectual property rights holders are having to take active steps to respond to the infringement challenges that this multi-territorial digital marketplace presents. Occasionally, governments respond directly to curb infringement online. For example, … Continue Reading
In the UK, designs of three dimensional items (which are not artistic works) are protected against copying by a separate intellectual property right known as unregistered design right (UDR). For the purposes of an infringement action, it is critical to know which features of a design are protected by UDR and which are not. However, … Continue Reading
The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 (the “Act”) comes into force on 1 October. It will reform UK law on unjustified threats in intellectual property infringement disputes. What will change and will this benefit IP owners? Currently, UK legislation provides that a person (typically the rightsholder) must not threaten another person with proceedings in … Continue Reading
The two year countdown to Brexit has begun. With the clock ticking, there is now a more urgent need for businesses to plan for the impact that Brexit will have on their operations. We have produced an updated briefing for intellectual property owners explaining the likely implications for their EU-wide IP protection, particularly where there … Continue Reading
Further to our earlier posts here and here, we can now report that the reduced fees for UK registered design protection will come into force on 1 October 2016. As we previously reported, businesses looking for registered design protection in the UK will make significant savings under the new fees regime. The fee reductions will … Continue Reading
On 19 July, we ran a webinar for clients entitled ‘Brexit: What could happen to my IP rights?’ We considered how IP protection in the UK will be affected by Brexit and discussed how IP filing and management strategies might be adapted now. The webinar was well attended and client feedback was that it had been … Continue Reading
The UK’s withdrawal from the EU has significant implications for IP protection in the UK. EU rights, including the EU trade mark, will no longer cover the UK, pan- European injunctions will not be available, or effective in, the UK and the UK could be left outside the new Unitary Patent regime. We are holding … Continue Reading
The UK electorate has decided that the UK should leave the European Union (EU). The referendum does not take immediate effect. Current EU law and EU-wide rights, for example, the EU trade mark and the registered Community design, will continue to apply until the withdrawal from the EU actually happens. The process of leaving the … Continue Reading
With the UK’s referendum on membership of the EU now just a month away, the focus is on what the likely impact of a Brexit would be. We have prepared an article summarising the impact a Brexit would have on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the UK. This will be relevant … Continue Reading
By way of follow-up to our January blog post, we can now report that the proposed reduced fees for UK registered design protection have been given the go ahead. This will mean significant savings for businesses looking for registered design protection in the UK. In January, the UK government launched a consultation on proposals to … Continue Reading
In Sports Dimensions, Inc. v. The Coleman Company, slip op., 2015-1553 (Fed. Cir. April 19, 2016), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a design patent incorporating functional elements must be construed to include ornamental aspects of those elements. It rejected a lower court’s construction of the design patent because the construction … Continue Reading
The UK’s Supreme Court has handed down its eagerly anticipated ruling in the long running Trunki litigation. The Court expressed its regret at finding the Community Registered Design (CRD) in issue not infringed. This appears to be the right result when the product which was alleged to infringe is compared with the design as registered. … Continue Reading
The UK government has launched a consultation on plans to lower application and renewal fees for UK registered designs. This could mean significant savings for businesses looking for registered design protection in the UK. The consultation comes on the back of the launch, by the UK Intellectual Property Office, of a new online platform for … Continue Reading
