Copyright, designs & trademarks

Latest content

Brand owners should avoid geographic names in marks to prevent confusion around their source

A case involving a trademark registration of the Chinese characters for Milan established that a geographic name is registrable if the mark has additional meanings or if it has acquired, through use, secondary meaning acknowledged by the relevant public.

06 July 2022

Dutch courts will still award cross-border injunctions to patent holders despite Boston Scientific setback

The refusal of a judge in Amsterdam to grant the US company relief covering Ireland, France and Germany does not indicate major change to the regime

28 June 2022

Taiwan’s IP office publishes translations of its most significant cases of the past five years

The TIPO has made so-called ‘classic’ trademark cases available on its website in English and Chinese. However, several judgments are pending, including one pertaining to the provision of designated services outside Taiwan.

22 June 2022

AT&T’s billion dollar secret sauce

Scott Frank, President and CEO of the company’s IP operation, reveals how its team of patent developers takes a venture capital approach to interactions with inventors and lawyers to ensure the development of a highly diversified, revenue-generating, portfolio of rights

01 June 2022

China’s market watchdog releases 2022 Legislative Plan

The legislative projects covered in the Plan are categorised either as Category I or Category II. It is essential that Category I projects are submitted for compliance checks and internal scrutiny by the deadline to prevent them being demoted to Category II.

01 June 2022

Fighting against bad-faith design patent filings in China

Two cases demonstrate the importance of a proactive filing strategy to prevent bad-faith design patent applications being granted to infringers producing similar products.

25 May 2022

McDonald’s is leaving Russia but will seek to retain its trademarks there

Move announced on Monday is rooted in the company’s brand values, CEO explains, but the door is left open to maintain key IP in the country

20 May 2022

Wenzhou court awards Siemens Rmb1 million in civil suit

In a ruling that is good news for rights holders, a court has ordered punitive damages against a repeat counterfeiter, finding that the fact that he was found guilty in criminal proceedings was no bar to a subsequent civil case.

18 May 2022

Highlights from the annual INTA meeting, the world’s biggest IP event

Among the key contributions in Washington DC last week were presentations from WIPO DG Darryl Tang and new USPTO Director Kathi Vidal

11 May 2022

Central District of California reigns as top US court for many types of IP litigation

Data from Docket Navigator shows the venues for trade secrets, trademark and copyright litigation in the US, areas in which the Los Angeles-based US District Court dominates

09 May 2022

Unlock unlimited access to all IAM content