trademarks
Bad news for WhatsApp as Norwegian Board of Appeal refuses to register logo
By AWA | Posted on November 23, 2020
With a reported total of more than 500 million users globally, many of us will have used or at least heard of WhatsApp. In a recent decision dated 24 September 2020, the Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights ruled against WhatsApp in its appeal against an earlier decision of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office...
How the amended Norwegian Trade Marks Act will affect applicants and owners
By AWA | Posted on October 30, 2020
The upcoming amendments to the Norwegian Trade Marks Act align law and practice with the EEA, but also provides opportunities for trademark owners and applicants in terms of enhanced registration and protection scope as well as considerations for alternate filing strategies The European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Committee decided on February 7, 2020, to implement...
Tags: EEA, NIPO, Norway, Trademark Directive (EU 2015/2436), trademarks
China issues Opinions on destroying infringing and counterfeit goods
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 15, 2020
On August 13, 2020, nine of China’s authorities including the Supreme People’s Court and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly released the Opinions on Strengthening the Destruction of Infringing and Counterfeit Goods (Opinions). The nine authorities involved are: National Leading Group for Combating Infringement and Counterfeiting, Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China,...
Tags: china, counterfeit, destruction, Infringement, trademarks
CNIPA publishes trademark infringement criteria
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 15, 2020
To help strengthen and guide trademark law enforcement, provide uniform criteria for law enforcement, strengthen the protection of exclusive rights to use trademarks and create a good business environment, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has enacted the Criteria for Judging Trademark Infringement (Criteria), which went into effect on June 15, 2020. The Criteria...
Amendments to Hong Kong’s Trade Marks Ordinance paves the way for Madrid Protocol
By AWA | Posted on July 7, 2020
The Trade Marks (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 was gazetted on June 19, 2020. While the Amendment does not introduce any substantive changes to the underlying Hong Kong trademark laws, it does provide a basis in Hong Kong Law for the application of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid...
Tags: Hong Kong, Intellectual Property, IP, Madrid Protocol, trademarks, WIPO
Brands must take extra caution against counterfeits during Covid-19 pandemic
By Mette Parlev | Posted on June 5, 2020
Enhanced online brand protection and anti-counterfeiting measures are needed due to the current pandemic: as demand from e-commerce consumers increases, so does the market for counterfeits. Background A recent report from EUROPOL, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, provides an overview of how criminals are adapting to profit from the covid-19 pandemic. Findings include that...
Tags: anti-counterfeiting, Coronavirus, COVID-19, enforcement, EU, Europe, trademarks
Intellectual Property and Domains for Start-ups and Scaleups
By Joacim Lydén, Kristian Martinsson | Posted on May 22, 2020
Explores the essentials when it comes to IP and domain names for start-ups and scaleups. An expert panel focuses on practical advice and business tools available in terms of branding and trademarks, innovations and patents as well as digital assets like domain names. Hosted by value creation specialist Cathrin Johansson with expert panellists Kristian Martinsson and...
Tags: domains, inventions, IPR, patents, scaleups, startups, trademarks
Punitive damages case appears in list of top 10 IP cases from China’s Supreme People’s Court
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on May 20, 2020
On April 21, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court released a list of the top 10 intellectual property law cases of 2019. The cases cover patent (invention and design), trademark, copyright and unfair competition. One of the cases selected involved a US Pilates company where punitive damages were awarded. While punitive damages are well-established in terms...
Tags: Balanced Body, Infringement, IPR, punitive damages, SPC, statutory damages, trademarks, Yongkang Elina
WIPO panel finds that Danish start-up Acubit engaged in reverse domain name hijacking
By AWA | Posted on April 29, 2020
Technology start-up Acubit claimed that Danish trademark rules and practice should assign domain names to the relevant trademark owner. A panel from the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre disagreed, as the UDRP governs in case of reverse domain name hijacking. Background Founded in 2016, Acubit A/S is a Danish start-up, which develops technology to locate people and objects around...
Tags: Bad faith, Denmark, domain hijacking, domains, mediation, trademarks, UDRP, WIPO
China further curbs bad-faith trademark applications
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on April 20, 2020
Provisions enacted alongside China’s recently amended Trademark Law seek to effectively regulate bad-faith trademark filings including penalties through the nation’s social credit system In response to the bad-faith application regime, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published Several Provisions for Regulating the Application for the Registration of Trademarks (Draft) on February 12, 2019. The...
Tags: applications, Bad faith, china, CNIPA, IP, malicious, registration, trademarks
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