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: Dr. Ulrike Gruebler Significant changes to European trademark law will be coming into effect in 2016. Just before the turn of the year the European Parliament adopted a very substantial reform package for EU trademarks. The revised laws aim to make EU trade mark law fit for the challenges of business in the 21st … Continue Reading
By Dr. Erica Pascal and Shuzo Maruyama The scenario is familiar. Your company is expanding product sales worldwide or restructuring to form subsidiaries outside the US. New entities – whether third parties or corporate affiliates – need patent rights. Your company may think that a global license with distribution rights will accomplish this result. But … Continue Reading
By John Wilks and Charles Harvey UK IP legislation is changing. First, the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (which received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013), has just been published, and modifies UK copyright law (though not as drastically as some would have liked). Secondly, the Government announced in the Queen’s Speech that it … Continue Reading
Last night, we attended a DC Bar fashion law panel discussion, “For the Love of Fashion: Protect Yourself,” at Baker Hostetler in Washington DC. It was a very informative and comprehensive discussion from in-house and outside counsel, including DLA Piper’s Lisa Norton, who is Of Counsel in the Patent Prosecution group, on trademark, copyright, and patent … Continue Reading
By Ed Chatterton Unlike many countries, it is not possible to register trademarks for retail services in China. This position has recently changed with the implementation on January 1, 2013 of the revised Chinese Trademark Office (CTMO) trademark classification which now recognizes retail and wholesale services, albeit in a limited way. The CTMO’s revised classification … Continue Reading
By James Stewart In an exciting development for the international trademark field, the Thai Parliament has issued its approval to move forward with Thailand’s proposed admission to the Madrid Protocol. The Thai Parliament must now amend its trademark laws to conform with the Madrid Protocol. Thailand’s Trademark Office has drafted these amendments which are currently … Continue Reading
By James Stewart While New York has Fashion Week, September has proved to be Fashion Month in the Senate. On September 10, 2012, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced S.3523 the “Innovative Design Protection Act of 2012” (“the Bill”). The Bill, aimed at extending intellectual property protection to fashion designs, was approved by the Senate Judiciary … Continue Reading
Reposted from DLA Piper’s Media Intelligence Bulletin Editorial Team: Nick Fitzpatrick, Duncan Calow and Patrick Mitchell The Department of Justice has published a landmark legal opinion that could pave the way for internet gambling in the United States. On 20 September 2011, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel reached its decision on whether … Continue Reading
Lawmakers appear to be backing away from the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the wake of this week’s widespread Internet protest. As previously reported, a number of the Web’s highest profile sites were blacked out or otherwise unavailable on Wednesday in opposition to the legislation. The bills, which were … Continue Reading
Reposted from DLA Piper’s Media & Sport Group Bulletin Editorial Team: Nick Fitzpatrick, Duncan Calow and Patrick Mitchell The consultation following up recommendations in the Hargreaves Review outlines Government plans to improve copyright laws. The consultation, which will run for 14 weeks and conclude on 21 March 2012, is in line with the Government’s “response” to the Hargreaves Review … Continue Reading
Undoubtedly today’s widespread Internet protest, which has darkened web sites ranging from Wikipedia to reddit to Flickr, has raised public awareness of the looming legislative and public relations battles associated with the Stop Internet Piracy Act (“SOPA”) and the Protect IP Act (“PIPA”), which are currently under consideration in the House and Senate, respectively. While … Continue Reading
As you may have noticed, today some of the most-visited websites on the Internet are blacked out, unavailable, or otherwise focusing on protesting currently-pending legislation in the United States that may impact many businesses and how they operate on the Internet. Specifically, popular sites such as Wikipedia, Craigslist, and BoingBoing are wholly unavailable, and others, … Continue Reading
Reposted from DLA Piper’s Media & Sport Group Bulletin Editorial Team: Nick Fitzpatrick, Duncan Calow and Patrick Mitchell Google has filed a motion to dismiss the Authors Guild and the American Society of Media Photographers as plaintiffs in the Google Books copyright infringement claim. The long running US Google books case emerged out of two separate law suits: one … Continue Reading
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY ALERT By Joshua Briones and Patrick S. Park A judge ruled last week that PhoneDog.com, a web-based community of cell phone information, has properly pled a trade secret and conversion claim arising out of Phonedog’s allegations that it is entitled to certain Twitter followers that a former employee had built up during his … Continue Reading
Reposted from DLA Piper’s Law à la Mode Edition 4 – Winter 2011 By: Michael K. Barron, Sarah Phillips and Nadea Taylor (Boston and London) “AdWords,” the paid, subscription-based Google referencing service which allows users to advertise their companies alongside Google search results, has recently been the subject of much legal scrutiny. In late September, the European … Continue Reading
Reposted from DLA Piper’s Law à la Mode Edition 4 – Winter 2011 By: Michael K. Barron, Sarah Phillips and Nadea Taylor (Boston and London) “AdWords,” the paid, subscription-based Google referencing service which allows users to advertise their companies alongside Google search results, has recently been the subject of much legal scrutiny. In late September, the European … Continue Reading
By: Job Seese (New York) Our Spring 2011 issue discussed a pending U.S. legislative bill that would expand copyright protection to fashion designs – something that generally is not available under existing U.S. law. Known as the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act (IDPPPA), the bill was first introduced in the Senate in August … Continue Reading
This e-newsletter is written by the DLA Piper Trademarks team. For more information about the articles or the trademark services of DLA Piper, please contact trademarkemea@dlapiper.com.… Continue Reading
Reprinted from La A La Mode, DLA Piper’s Fashion, Retail and Design E-zine by Jean-Louis Kerrels and Julie De Bruyn (Brussels) On June 23, the European Parliament adopted the Consumer Rights Directive.* Among the changes is a 14 day EU-wide right for consumers to change their mind about their online purchases, as well as new information … Continue Reading
Reprinted from La A La Mode, DLA Piper’s Fashion, Retail and Design E-zine by Emma Greenow (Brussels) http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=5228836 http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=80653660 With what can seem to be an overwhelming increase in the quantity and complexity of EU regulation facing the fashion industry, understanding and taking action in this area can seem as if you are navigating a tangled … Continue Reading
Reposted from DLA Piper’s Media & Sport Group Bulletin Editorial Team: Nick Fitzpatrick, Duncan Calow and Patrick Mitchell The UK Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) has signed a landmark agreement with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (“IMPI”) to improve cooperation between the two nations on issues of copyright, patents, trade marks and designs. The agreement aims to support … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently entered a settlement order with Reebok International Ltd. to resolve charges that the company deceptively advertised that its “toning shoes” would provide extra tone and strength to leg and buttock muscles. The settlement arises out of an action the FTC brought in the United States District Court for the Northern … Continue Reading
Cookies have long been a key means for online companies to track a consumer’s web browsing activities. Most browsers allow the consumer to block conventional cookies from accessing their computer. To get around this obstacle, marketers have increasingly employed “flash cookies” , which use a different approach for storing a consumers online behavior and are … Continue Reading
