By: Karine Disdier-Mikus, Dr. Ulrike Gruebler, and Désirée Fields EU trademark law is currently undergoing the biggest reform in its history. 1 October 2017 marks another important milestone in the implementation of the EU Trademark Reform Package as a further set of very important amendments will come into force. The main areas of change include the … Continue Reading
By: Sangeetha Punniyamoorthy and Thomas Kurys (Toronto) The Supreme Court of Canada recently released a landmark decision in which a broad worldwide injunction was upheld restraining Google from including certain websites in its search results anywhere in the world. Intellectual property rights-holders seeking to enforce intellectual property rights in an online world where infringers are … Continue Reading
By John Nading, David Kramer, James Stewart, and Alberto Zacapa The Supreme Court today struck down the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act as facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, affirming the decision of the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit. This outcome in Matal v. Tam is a victory … Continue Reading
By Melinda Upton and Claire Kermond (Sydney) In the retail and fashion industries, names and marks are a key element of the marketing strategies and longevity of brands. Using generic marks or names can land retailers and fashion designers in trouble when it comes to successfully trademarking and protecting their brand.… Continue Reading
DLA Piper is pleased to announce the launch of Prize Promotions Around the World, an updated version of our previous prize promotions handbook. Prize Promotions Around the World is an online tool designed to assist our clients across the globe with the management of the early development stages of a prize promotion (such as a sweepstake … Continue Reading
By Rohan Singh, Jessica Noakesmith and Brett Shandler Universal Music Australia Pty Limited v TPG Internet Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 435 (28 April 2017) (Universal Music) Last week in the Federal Court of Australia, over thirty internet service providers (ISPs) including TPG, Optus and Telstra were ordered to block access to the torrenting website KickassTorrents … Continue Reading
By Rohan Singh (Special Counsel) & Jessica Noakesmith (Graduate) A recent report based on customs’ seizures by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that fake information and communications technology (ICT) goods accounted for 6.5% of the overall ICT trade, well up on the 2.5% of overall traded goods found to be fake … Continue Reading
By Tamar Duvdevani On March 22, 2017, in a 6-2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the designs on Varsity Brands’ cheerleading uniforms are eligible for copyright protection. The crux of this decision relates to the fact that the United States Copyright Act treats the copyrightability of “useful articles” … Continue Reading
By: Carissa Bouwer The internet has made it easy for consumers to share their opinions and experiences regarding products and businesses. While easy access to reviews can help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, the anonymity of the internet can be difficult for businesses that believe they have received unfair reviews. In recent years, some businesses have … Continue Reading
By Désirée Fields (London) and Ulrike Grübler (Hamburg) Although some time has passed since the UK’s vote to leave the EU, the full implications of Brexit for trademarks and designs remain unclear. Statements made by EU and UK officials have not changed that position, nor did Theresa May’s Brexit speech in January 2017 provide any indication … Continue Reading
By: Scott Thiel, Carolyn Bigg, Paula Cao This post first appeared as a Cybersecurity Law Alert on dlapiper.com. Developments this month continue to signpost a more challenging compliance environment ahead for non-Chinese technology companies and those operating online in China.… Continue Reading
By: Nicolette Kost De Sevres Blockchain is on the verge of revolutionizing how we interact in the digital world. It has far reaching applications from the Financial industry to many other sectors of the economy. The question is what is Blockchain, what are the underlying concepts, what is the current state of technological implementation and … Continue Reading
By: Ming Lok Lam* and Susheela Rivers* (Hong Kong) In Hong Kong, reports have shown that the retail market is beginning to revive in the second half of 2016. This is unsurprising given the undeniable fact that Hong Kong is unique in real estate given that space is scarce and demand rarely decreases.… Continue Reading
By James Clark (Leeds) Most of us are familiar with the many ways in which customer activity can be tracked in the online space. Customer accounts, cookies, web beacons and tracking pixels are familiar tools in the e-commerce arsenal, and all come with familiar challenges from a privacy and data protection perspective. Increasingly, retailers are … Continue Reading
By: Désirée Fields (London, UK) and Melissa Brown (Birmingham, UK) In a decision of significant impact on brand owners, the European Union General Court (EUGC), has held that acquired distinctiveness for European Union trade marks (EUTMs) must be proven throughout all EU Member States rather than in relation to a substantial part or the majority … Continue Reading
By Alexandra Kamerling and Marianna Kinsella (London) Background The European Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy was designed to put Europe at the forefront of the digital economy. To achieve this, the European Commission has recognised the need to reduce barriers to cross-border e-commerce within the EU. On September 15, 2016, the Commission published its Preliminary … Continue Reading
By Sandra Bell (Washington, DC) Your latest shipment of imports is detained at the border. You are told that your goods are not being allowed admission to the US because they were produced, in whole or in part, with forced labor. But these are the same products you’ve been importing, in pretty much the same … Continue Reading
By Gurpreet Duhra, Lisa Hodgson and Matthew Jeavons (Sheffield and Birmingham) The recent Brexit outcome has led to a degree of uncertainty in UK consumer markets. How will the Brexit decision impact future UK employment prospects?… Continue Reading
By: Scott Thiel Following hot on the heels of the recently-enacted Cybersecurity Law, the Chinese Government has published a draft of sweeping rules to regulate the delivery of cloud services.… Continue Reading
By Michael Senkowski, Nancy Victory, and Michael Lewis The pace of innovation for wireless products and services over the past decade or so has been breathtaking. Since the introduction of the iPhone – less than 10 years ago – near-ubiquitous mobile networks have developed to provide instant broadband access to the Internet for streaming news, … Continue Reading
Internet services, IoT, cookies and more will be significantly impacted. Those who think that the EU General Data Protection Regulation is a lot to contend with are now facing the prospect of a new Regulation replacing the 2002 ePrivacy Directive. A version of the draft Regulation leaked earlier this week indicates a potentially significant impact … Continue Reading
DLA Piper is pleased to announce the launch of Global Patent Laws. Global Patent Laws is designed to provide you with an overview of the key patent laws and dispute resolution procedures that are relevant to businesses operating in a number of countries around the world. Key procedures include: What acts infringe a patent; The availability … Continue Reading
By: Jeffrey D. Aronson, Jim Halpert, Victoria Lee, Mark C. Lehberg, Eduardo J. Blanco If you maintain a website or service where you make content available to others, you probably have (and should have) an agent registered with the US Copyright Office to receive notices alleging copyright infringement. Last week, the Copyright Office adopted a … Continue Reading
By: Sydney White The U.S. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “Agencies”), released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”) on October 20, requesting comments by January 17, 2017, on enhanced cybersecurity risk management rules … Continue Reading
