AWA
New hope for trademark owners in China
By AWA | Posted on September 3, 2015
In China, the trademark system is based on the “first-to-file” system, which means that the first company or person to file owns the legal right to the trademark. There is no requirement for the intention to actually use the mark as we know it from a.o. the US system. Up until now the so called...
Tags: china, Chinese Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, Michael Bastian, TRAB, Trademark, Trademark Squatters
Patents for protecting others from harm?
By AWA | Posted on May 20, 2015
Well that would be really nice, wouldn’t it? My daughter came home from school a few weeks ago and told me about one of her friends who had taken a bad fall on the playground and hit his head so badly he had to go to the emergency and get some stitches. She said, “I...
Tags: IP strategy, patents
Will there be any difference in the oral hearings between the EPO and the UPC?
By AWA | Posted on May 13, 2015
Anyone who has been attending an oral proceeding at the EPO, either as an observer or as an active party knows what it’s like. You need to think fast and stay on your toes, and watch your language because every issue, often starting with added subject matter, is taken to a decision immediately. The proceedings...
Tags: EPO, oral hearings, unified patent court, unitary patent, UPC
Is there anything morally wrong with “Je suis Charlie”?
By AWA | Posted on January 21, 2015
In continuation of the terrible terror attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, social medias were flooded with the phrase “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) as a message of condolence, outrage and defiance, as well as support for the right to free expression. As expected, this social media wave resulted in a vast...
Tags: OHIM, trademarks
Revisions to Canadian Trademark Act
By AWA | Posted on November 6, 2014
Earlier this year Canada’s government proposed Canada major changes to the Canadian Trademark Act and in June the bill (C-31) received royal assent. The changes enable Canada, as one of the last (if not the last) western industrialized countries, to accede to the Madrid Protocol, Nice Agreement and the Singapore Treaty. Some of the most...
Tags: Canada, Madrid Protocol, Nice Agreement, Singapore Treaty, trademarks
Swedish supreme court: Trademark infringement is not a crime for which “the nature of the crime” motivates imprisonment
By AWA | Posted on October 24, 2014
It is rather well-known that a trademark infringement may result in claims for damages. On the other hand, the awareness is probably not as high about the risk for an individual to end up in jail for the very same violation. The extent to which the latter should happen was the question to be decided...
Copyright in relation to e-books
By AWA | Posted on September 26, 2014
The copyright protection of authors is being increasingly challenged by the continuing digitalization of the book market. The emergence of the e-book has caused a very IP-relevant question: Is the consumer allowed to re-sell the e-book he purchased? When it comes to physical works such as hard copy books, European copyright legislation clearly states that...
Tags: copyright, e-books
Revisions to the Korean Trademark Act
By AWA | Posted on September 19, 2014
The aim of the revisions, which were implemented in June this year, is to reinforce the position of trademark owners, which the following examples will indicate. The article handling the protection of well known trademarks has become clearer. Now it is clearly stated in the Trademark Act that applications for trademarks which are likely to...
Tags: Japan, Korea, trademarks
Danish law can be applicable to infringing sales from UK websites
By AWA | Posted on July 8, 2014
The Danish Maritime and Commercial Court has recently rendered a decision in a case regarding sale of infringing furniture designs from two British websites. The decision is interesting for practitioners as it explains which exact elements are added substantial weight, when defining which law is applicable to an online infringement. When deciding whether sale of...
Tags: Denmark, design protection, UK
The life sciences patent maze – USA
By AWA | Posted on May 27, 2014
ON MARCH 4, 2014, the US Patent Office issued new guidelines on how to evaluate the patentability of inventions reciting or involving “laws of nature/natural principles, natural phenomena, and/or natural products”. Considering the fact that the first federal patent statute of the United States was established in 1790, one might be inclined to believe that...
Tags: life science, patents, USA, USPTO
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