Sector: Technology

New research reveals that, after a decline across the previous two quarters, in Q3 2016 the number of third-party advertisers bidding on trademark terms on Google jumped 32%. Across the search engine landscape, such bidding resulted in 2.5 billion impressions – and 38 million clicks – being lost by brands.

19 October 2016

This has been arguably the most difficult month in Samsung’s history, with the South Korean tech giant left reeling from worldwide reports of battery failures and fires caused by its flagship Galaxy Note 7 device. A crisis expert suggests that its “speed over diligence” response to the situation was dire, putting “the entire brand” in the court of public opinion – and it could have a long way to go to restore trust among consumers.

13 October 2016

Online communities of so-called ‘alt right’ internet users have developed code words to hide bigoted slurs on social media in a bid to avoid perceived censorship. The code uses high-profile brand names, including Google, Yahoo and Skype, to substitute for offensive words to describe ethnic groups including African Americans, Mexicans and Jews. <i>World Trademark Review</i> has spoken to experts about what the affected brand owners can do  – but in terms of legal remedies, the options appear to be limited.

06 October 2016

A recent report has highlighted the prevalence of SMiShing (SMS phishing) attacks, with a third of consumers reporting that they had received messages trying to trick them into disclosing personal information. Patrick M Flaherty, assistant general counsel, marketing, IP and digital media law and policy, at Verizon, tells <i>World Trademark Review</i> that text phishing is on the up, but imparts some practical pointers for brand owners seeking to combat such fraud.

05 October 2016

Japan’s Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry has called for measures to combat the activities of ‘IP trolls’, including trademark squatting – an issue that is attracting increased attention in the country.

30 September 2016

The low-cost Raspberry Pi computer celebrated the sale of its 10 millionth unit last week, and has been hailed in the technology sector as a transformative device for education and developing nations. For those in the IP space, one attorney tells <i>World Trademark Review</i> that the device could be used to reduce costs and streamline the more common tasks of IP law firms.

13 September 2016

While still in its nascent stages, the success of Pokémon GO has provided a glimpse into the potential of augmented reality (AR) – and if the technology goes truly mainstream, there will be a direct impact on the work of trademark counsel. A new study from Perkins Coie and virtual reality proponent Upload takes a look at industry expectations for AR and virtual reality.

13 September 2016

Foxconn’s $3.5 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Sharp, which was completed last month, marked what is presumably the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company yet. And with the Taiwanese outfit’s installation of one of its own team as CEO, Sharp’s brand strategy appears to be heading in a new direction.

02 September 2016

Apple has been revealed as owning the world’s most valuable brand portfolio, despite this value predominately residing in one master brand. By contrast, drawing on 539 individual brands, Nestlé is sitting on a $66.6 billion portfolio. The latest top 100 list therefore illustrates the benefits of both the master and multi-brand approaches to consumer engagement. Both, though, come with downsides.

30 August 2016

The latest edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) was released this week, with the performance of Asian economies boosted by trademark filing levels and IP monetisation.

18 August 2016