In an October 2018 decision, China’s National People’s Congress (“NPC”) approved a proposal to establish a new specialized intellectual property appeals court within the Supreme People’s Court (the “SPC”) in Beijing, effective as of January 2019. The IP Tribunal will serve as a national IP appellate court overseeing patent disputes,More
USPTO: Launch of Expedited Cancellation Pilot Program
In June 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) proposed streamlined cancellation procedures in an effort to save practitioners and trademark owners both time and money. In January 2019, that vision became a reality when the USPTO announced the launch of its Expedited Cancellation Pilot Program (the “Pilot Program”). More
U.S. Copyright: Numerous Works Enter Public Domain for First Time in Over Two Decades
Last month, for the first time since 1998, a large collection of books, films, musical compositions, paintings, and other works entered the public domain in the United States. Works such as Charlie Chaplin’s The Pilgrim, Cecil B. DeMille’s The 10 Commandments,More
Uruguay: Use of Trademarks Now Mandatory – Update
In our March
2014 Information Letter, we reported that Uruguay passed legislation
establishing a use requirement for registered trademarks (Section 187-Act No.
19149, October 24, 2013; see also Decree No. 277/2014 of October 7, 2014). We now report that, effective January 1,More
United Kingdom: Snoop Dogg Prevails Over Gleissner
Calvin Broadus v. Snoop International Ltd. (U.K. Opposition No. 408342) (Decision No. 0-424-18)
On behalf of superstar
rapper Snoop Dogg (whose real name is Calvin Broadus), we were successful in
overseeing a trademark opposition against an entity related to Michael
Gleissner,More
Malawi: Accession to Madrid Protocol
Malawi acceded to the
Madrid Protocol on September 25, 2018.
The Protocol will enter into force with respect to Malawi on December
25, 2018. Malawi will be the 102nd
member of the Madrid System. See more at
www.wipo.intMore
India: Single Color Not Protectable as Trademark
Christian Louboutin SAS v. Abubaker & Ors, No. 890/2018(May 25, 2018)
One step forward and one
step back. Such is the path for
Christian Louboutin in his ongoing battle to enforce trademark rights in his
famous red sole around the world. More
Czech Republic: Changes to Czech Trademark Act
In order to implement EU
Directive No. 2015/2436 of the European Parliament (approximating the trademark
laws of Member States by January 14, 2019), the following amendments to the
Czech Trademark Act will take effect as of January 1, 2019 (among other
changes):
• More
China: Brand Owner Prevails in Unfair Competition Action Against Bad Faith Squatter
Bayer Consumer Care Holdings LLC and Bayer Consumer Care AG v. Li Qing, Hangzhou Yuhang, District People’s Court 2018
In a recent decision in
favor of the owner of the COPPERTONE sunscreen brand, the Yuhang District Court
opens the door to unfair competition claims against malicious trademark
registrations by trademark squatters.More
Canada: New Trademark Regime Effective June 17, 2019
We report the date of
the long-awaited coming into force of the new Canadian trademark regime – June
17, 2019. The principal changes include
the following: (1) It will no longer be necessary to state a basis for
trademark applications and (2) Declarations of Use will no longer be required,More