For many years, it has been possible to obtain registered IP protection for the designs of products that have visual appeal in the Member States of the EU. Separately, this is also the case in the UK. The resulting registered industrial design rights have become a valuable and powerful legal tool in every company’s IP … Continue Reading
The author would like to thank John Hodges and Elisa Li for their contributions to this post. The emergence of blockchain-supported Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) has captured the interest of the entertainment and business worlds in the past couple of years. Large digital transactions like that of Beeple NFT that sold for $69 million and the ever-mounting numbers … Continue Reading
More and more companies are entering the Metaverse leading to a trend towards increased filings of trademarks in the “virtual” classes. This blog has reported on this trend here and here. Whilst the SPB Team does not blindly follow trends, we are advising all our trademark clients (even the more “conservative” ones) now to file … Continue Reading
Intellectual property owners need to add the metaverse to places to watch for possible infringement, specifically, trademark or copyright infringement in the form of NFTs or non-fungible tokens. This is highlighted in the case of Hermès International v. Mason Rothschild, currently pending in federal district court in New York. In this case, Hermès claims that … Continue Reading
The recent US$69 million sale of an “NFT” by digital artist Beeple in March 2021 generated considerable attention, both within and outside the realm of art. NFTs are digitally unique “non-fungible tokens,” based on block chain technology, that are used to manage the IP rights of artists in underlying works. New and innovative uses for … Continue Reading
