Organisation: Office of the US Trade Representative

Alibaba report shows uptick in enforcement effort as brand engagement sets new record

A record number of rights holders have signed up to the Alibaba IPP Platform and Anti-counterfeiting Alliance, according to the group's annual IP protection report.

31 March 2022

GI battle lines harden as USTR submissions call for US to act over EU efforts to “throttle competition”

The Consortium for Common Food Names has called on the US government to do more to proactively secure “firm and explicit commitments” from trading partners on the treatment of geographical indications and common names.

02 February 2022

Gruyere genericide decision rejects “blatant European market-share grab”, says NMPF

The Consortium for Common Food Names and the National Milk Producers Federation have welcomed a US district court ruling confirming that ‘gruyere’ is a generic style of cheese in the United States.

10 January 2022

USMCA or FTA, UK GI regime will be defining factor in talks with US

Prospects of a trade deal and speculation that the United Kingdom could join the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement have dominated coverage of the UK prime minister’s trip to Washington DC.

25 September 2021

Craft Europe steps up advocacy for new non-agricultural GI regime

Speaking to WTR, a spokesperson for the group argues that such a regime would have economic, sustainability and anti-counterfeiting benefits for EU and non-EU rights holders.

13 September 2021

China moves to increase platform liability; brand owners embrace BIMI; Trussardi addresses “the counterfeiting paradox”; and much more

Everything we covered on WTR over the past seven days – and all you need to know from the world of trademarks to set yourself up for the start of another busy week.

05 September 2021

USTR launches notorious market comment period as online counterfeiting remains hot button political issue

Rights holders would be wise to engage with the USTR’s calls for comments ahead of the next notorious markets list, argues our latest Saturday opinion column.

04 September 2021

Top filers, unprecedented applications and a transformed landscape: a year in the life of the EUIPO

Featured in EUIPO Filing Elite 2021

Worrying drops in filing levels followed by record highs have made for an eventful year at the EUIPO. WTR’s Trevor Little considers how these and other events are affecting the IP ecosystem and could affect the future of the register itself.

01 July 2021

European Commission launches non-agricultural GIs consultation as United States voices concern over extending protection

The European Commission is running a public consultation on creating a system for the EU-wide protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products.

05 May 2021

Covid, GIs, China, Philippines, UAE – five big takeaways from USTR’s 2021 Special 301

The Office of the US Trade Representative has published its 2021 Special 301 Report, the first to be released under the Biden administration.

04 May 2021