Sector: Fashion & Luxury

A major new study released today has revealed that counterfeit and pirated goods represented up to 2.5% of world trade in 2013 – a figure that Antonio Campinos, president of the EU Intellectual Property Office, noted “is equivalent to combined GDP of the Czech Republic and Ireland”. Reflecting on this, BASCAP director Jeff Hardy has called on policymakers to do more to fight the scourge of counterfeiting.

18 April 2016

US Customs and Border Protection and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations has revealed that the total number of seized IP infringing products increased by nearly 25% in fiscal year 2015, with the value of detained goods breaking through the $1 billion barrier.

18 April 2016

In a counterfeiting case the defendants claimed that the goods were well-known fashion brands sold in a clearance sale caused by the bankruptcy of their firm. The first-instance court rejected their claim and imposed prison sentences on both defendants, which were upheld on appeal.

01 April 2016

The ECJ has dismissed an appeal against a General Court decision upholding an opposition by Adidas to an application to register a Community trademark using stripes on footwear.

21 March 2016

OHIM has dismissed an application for a declaration of invalidity brought against the mark HOT SOX, which was claimed to be descriptive and non-distinctive. The decision highlights the minimum requirement of distinctiveness for composite signs.

18 March 2016

WIPO has published its 2015 Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) statistics, evidencing a 4.6% increase in case filings compared to the previous year. The organisation attributes this rise to activity in new gTLDs, which is accurate but the figures only tell one part of the story.

18 March 2016

The owners of the G-STAR brand pursued a business – and its directors and former director – for infringing a raft of laws in relation to its products. The court found that the respondents had infringed the applicants’ trademarks and copyright, had committed the tort of passing off and were engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.

15 March 2016

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has held that INDIAN was an indication of origin for both motorcycles and clothing, but that INDIAN MOTORCYCLE was an indication of origin for motorcycles only, and not for clothing.

14 March 2016

The EU General Court has dismissed an opposition against the Community trademark KICKTIPP by the owner of the KICKERS mark.

09 March 2016

Following a long-running dispute, the IP Court in Taiwan has rendered a decision for a cancellation action initiated by local company Zong Hwa Industrial Co Ltd against Kyarra Inspires Incorporated due to possible confusion.

23 February 2016