Columns
Coexistence agreements play a uniqueand vital role in trademark practice, withno real equivalent in either the patent orthe copyright field. Given the range ofcircumstances which may give rise tocoexistence agreements, careful thoughtshould be given to the drafting of suchagreements
Legislation and case law have providedsome guidance on the issue of whethera dealer of well-known brand productsmay use the name of the brand in itsdomain name. However, questions remainas to whether website content must betaken into account when assessing therisk of confusion
Developing effective relationships withcustoms authorities is an essential part ofmany in-house IP enforcement strategies.Two leading members of Harley-Davidson’strademark department explain why
IP crime constitutes a serious threat to theeconomy of the United Kingdom. Therecently released Intellectual PropertyCrime Report 2007 highlights the scale ofcounterfeiting and piracy in the country,as well as the increasing efforts of industryand government to tackle the problem
Country correspondent
Well-known and famous marks enjoy increasingly good protection Down Under, even though only oneprovision mentions them expressly
Italian legislation provides a good framework for the protection of well-known marks. However, there has beenlimited case law so far, leaving some uncertainty as to how to determine when ‘unfair advantage’ or ‘detriment’to the well-known mark occurs
US federal trademark law was amended on October 6 2006 by the Trademark Dilution Revision Act. Rulingsunder the new law trickled in during 2007, of which the most noteworthy is the decision of the US Court ofAppeals for the Fourth Circuit in a commercial parody case involving Louis Vuitton
Through a combination of local laws, EU legislation and international measures, famous marks are wellprotected in Benelux. Over the past few years, the courts and the Benelux Office of Intellectual Property havestrengthened well-known mark owners’ rights yet further
Protecting trademarks that enjoy a reputation is a sensitive aspect of trademark law practice and doing so in Franceis no exception. A review of both the statutes and case law is needed to draw a clear picture of the French approach
Both the First Trademarks Directive and the Community Trademark Regulation afford protection to well-knownand famous trademarks. Uncertainty remains as to the definition of some key terms – for instance as to whether‘well-known marks’ and ‘marks with a reputation’ have the same meaning
Germany has a long history of offering strong protection to well-known and famous marks. As the courts havedeveloped the law in this area, they have slowly relaxed the criteria for recognition as a well-known mark. Thesedays, good survey evidence can mean that even the most descriptive of marks may be classified as well known
Following an amendment to the law in 2005, procedures allowing rights holders to apply for declarations thattheir marks are famous or notorious in Mexico finally came into effect in late 2007. Rights holders and theiradvisers must be aware of the important distinctions between these two types of mark
Features
The Benelux market is a microcosm of the CTM system:different countries united by a common trademarkregistration procedure. The union of Belgium,Luxembourg and the Netherlands has clear benefits formark owners since they can simultaneously protecttheir marks in three jurisdictions
China enacted its first Trademark Law in 1982, andamended it in 1993 and 2001, respectively. The Chinesegovernment is now mulling over amending the law fora third time. Many view the changes as essential andthey are likely to have a significant impact on rightsholders and practitioners alike
Just over 10 years after leaving the Soviet Union,the Baltic states had created from scratch IPprotection systems that were good enough to allowthem into the European Union. But there is stillscope for improvement
French and German courts are at the forefront ofdefining the limits of host provider liability law, whichlooks set to be one of the key issues of 2008. eBay hasbeen one of the main targets of court action so far andit is bracing itself for more of the same
The Benelux Office of Intellectual Property has achieveda lot in just over 10 years. In that time, it has introducedexamination on absolute grounds, an oppositionprocess and expedited procedures. However, some arguethat it has gone from having one of the most liberalregistration systems in Europe to one of the strictest
Sony Corporation’s history spans six decades. Duringthis time it has proved itself to be one of the mostinnovative and commercially successful companiesaround. A centrally controlled IP division helps keep aclose tab on the group’s valuable marks, but problemscannot always be avoided
It’s the biggest search engine on the planet, a leaderin online advertising and an ideas factory for creativenew ways to use the Internet. It’s also a magnet forcontroversy. But then, Google didn’t get where it istoday by shying away from a fight
News
Roundtable
For trademark owners, India can be a land of opportunity, but also one thatposes major challenges. Four trademark practitioners discuss the issues
