Opinion

A frenzy of headlines over a TikTok influencer’s rights to her catchphrase raises wider concerns over the risks that legitimate brands face due to trademark misunderstandings and misreporting, argues this week’s Saturday opinion column.

31 August 2024

In this week's Saturday opinion piece, WTR's own Tim Lince reflects on a recent trip to Brazil and some unexpected brand findings – including TikTok Cola and a Batman-themed petrol station.

24 August 2024

The new government needs to commit to its position on AI and copyright while we await the outcome of Getty v Stability if it wants the country to be seen as a forum for technological advancement, argues this week’s Saturday opinion column. 

17 August 2024

More countries need to acknowledge the WIPO Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, as this is only the first step towards greater protection of traditional knowledge, argues this week’s Saturday opinion. 

27 July 2024

A new academic paper argues that Amazon has upended the US trademark system with little public recognition, and that questions about trademark law in the modern age need answering.

20 July 2024

Our latest opinion column asks why brand owners scaled down their messaging in support of Pride Month this year, and explains why companies that are not genuinely committed to supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion risk falling out of favour with a wider array of consumers than they might think.

13 July 2024

Digital barriers must be overcome or they risk alienating users from the IP ecosystem, warns this week's Saturday opinion column.

29 June 2024

The IP community should be lobbying for the proposed ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement to explicitly include IP-related provisions, urges this week’s Saturday opinion column.

22 June 2024

In this week’s opinion, we take a closer look at the trend towards law firms embracing technology platforms and tech-based solutions as part of their core identity. 

08 June 2024

Intelligence levels beyond AI as we currently know will require a complete rethink of intellectual property and the IP system, argues this week’s opinion column.

01 June 2024

Tougher penalties and claim validation will give more weight to green ads done right, but murky guidelines leave pioneering companies guessing, argues this week’s opinion column

18 May 2024

This week’s opinion column urges the newly merged TikTok X Tokopedia to take the lead on IP protection efforts in Indonesia.

11 May 2024

The EUIPO's João Negrão, EU General Court and Board of Appeal judges, and in-house experts from Nestlé and Assa Abloy share their thoughts on the challenges that lie ahead for European trademark, copyright and design law, at the EUIPO's fifth IP Case Law Conference.

04 May 2024

In this week’s opinion, Ritter Spencer Cheng’s Chelsie Spencer argues that, by insisting that cannabis-related marks must be for use in lawful commerce, the USPTO is overstepping its statutory authority and applying its own rules inconsistently.

27 April 2024

In this week’s opinion column, Megan Bannigan, Christopher Ford, Kate Saba and Hannah Beattie at Debevoise & Plimpton argue that the current provisions of the US SHOP SAFE Act, while well-intentioned, go too far in shifting liability onto e-commerce sites for online counterfeiting.

20 April 2024

In this week’s opinion column, Simmons & Simmons’ Anna Li and George Chan warn that acquired third-party marks may be permanently “tainted” by the original owner’s bad faith and at risk of invalidation.

13 April 2024

An INTA video posted on social media this week has sparked debate across the trademark community. In this week’s Saturday opinion we reflect on why the video had to be issued, despite it likely upsetting some in the community. 

06 April 2024

This week’s Saturday opinion column argues that practitioners need to be considering use cases for generative AI or risk falling behind.

30 March 2024

This week’s Saturday opinion column reflects on discussions that took place at this week’s IPBC Europe, where the European Commission’s proposed SEP regulation – and the role that the EUIPO is being asked to play – were a hot topic.

23 March 2024

This week’s opinion column urges brand owners to pay attention to China-based shopping agents allegedly making it easier for Western consumers to buy fake goods online.

16 March 2024