Sector: Consumer Goods

The Patent Office has upheld an opposition by Apple Inc against a trademark application by domestic company FrameWorkz ehf, on the grounds of likelihood of confusion.

10 March 2016

The prospect of a voluntary copyright and piracy rights protection mechanism, akin to the Trademark Clearinghouse, has been floated by the recently launched Healthy Domains Initiative. While this will raise questions about content policing responsibilities in some quarters, it is a move that many rights holders will welcome.

09 March 2016

In a case that centred on the issue of whether surface decoration should be considered when deciding whether design infringement has occurred, the Supreme Court has delivered a verdict that one commentator suggests “cements the growing perception that the pendulum swings too far in favour of the alleged infringer”.

09 March 2016

In a non-precedential decision TTAB has held that the mark HEALTHY HEMP was merely descriptive and therefore refused to register the mark.

07 March 2016

The ECJ recently provided clarification on the extent to which a Community trademark licensee may file legal proceedings when the licence agreement has not been entered in the Trademark Register.

04 March 2016

A recent Supreme Court decision cancelling some of IKEA’s trademarks on the grounds of non-use means that any three-year period of non-use potentially makes trademarks vulnerable and subsequent use does not rectify this. A harsh judgment, perhaps, but one which is within the interpretation of the law.

02 March 2016

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court has dismissed an appeal against a decision of the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property which refused to register the trademark HYDE PARK for Classes 12 and 28 of the Nice Classification as it was qualified as deceptive to consumers if the goods were not British.

01 March 2016

The General Court has ruled that the shape of Coca-Cola’s ‘contour bottle without fluting’ is devoid of distinctive character and does not qualify for registration as a Community trademark. One industry expert told <i>World Trademark Review</i> that the decision highlights the particular challenges facing those seeking to protect containers and packaging as trademarks.

24 February 2016

The Supreme Court upheld a decision of the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court recognising the powers of the registrar of trademarks to cancel the registration of a trademark under Section 57(4) of the Trademarks Act 1999 <i>suo moto</i> (ie, of its own motion).

24 February 2016

The New Zealand government is reportedly “pressing ahead” with plain packaging on tobacco products. The move will see the country join Australia, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom in introducing legislation that would remove trademarks from tobacco packaging. As momentum for plain packaging continues to grow, the World Health Organisation has revealed a new plain packaging PR push to coincide with World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

23 February 2016