Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2023

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Five notes from MARQUES Day 1

The Annual MARQUES Conference is breaking records and tackling digital technology in Copenhagen, Denmark. Here are five highlights from the first 24 hours

Lucky number

marques1.jpg

There are a record 777 people registered for this year’s MARQUES Conference. This represents a riposte from northern Europe to those who predicted that the Danish capital could not compete with sunny, exotic Monte Carlo where last year’s conference was held. That had just 720 registrations.

The last time MARQUES was held in Copenhagen, incidentally, was in 1993, when less than 300 people attended. A handful of this year’s attendees were also here back then: a highlight, apparently, was the Carlsberg brewery tour.



Opera open house

The opening reception consisted of a boat tour to see Copenhagen’s architectural highlights, followed by a reception at the Opera House. One of the bits of trivia conveyed by the boat guides was that the building’s architect, Henning Larsen, wasn’t happy with the finished product and refused to attend the opening. Cue discussions among lawyers attending about copyright and moral rights.

Disappointingly, a CTM application for Operaen København, filed in 2003, was withdrawn in 2005.



The power of parody

marques-game.jpg

Today’s first session featured a debate between representatives of Google, Nestlé and King.com (maker of Candy Crush) on online enforcement and when to take action. It’s a highly topical issue given the recent Vlaams Belang copyright ruling from the CJEU and the fact that parody is set to be mentioned as a defence to trade mark infringement in EU law.

The panel discussed various real examples of cases that tread the line between parody and brand abuse, including a video titled “Psychos around the world are counting on Scotch Blue”, a picture of Adolf Hitler drinking coffee and a social media user who calls herself “Purina”.

Refreshingly, the panel did not always agree on when it was appropriate to take action. But there was consensus that it can be better to use online forms provided by platforms, rather than going straight in with a legal letter, and that platforms will generally follow the law in the countries where they operate (if only because their employees can be threatened with jail if they don’t).



Disharmony in Europe

It’s an old story on this blog that EU member states lack harmonisation. A new perspective on this emerged today in a panel discussion on trade marks and unfair competition law. Given that unfair competition laws in the EU are diverse and likely to remain so, what are your best chances of enforcement?

Gregor Vos from the Netherlands argued that copyright may be your best friend, though others in the room were sceptical about this. The German participants in particular preferred to stick to unfair competition remedies. This is an argument that will run and run.



marques2.jpg Eat my brand

The theme of this year’s conference is Traditional Brands in a Digital Market and inevitably there is a lot of discussion about social media: the best place to keep up to date is, inevitably, twitter – and the hashtag is #marques2014. The host hotel, meanwhile, was going for more traditional branding on its white chocolate cheesecake (see right).

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Civil society and industry representatives met in Geneva on Thursday, September 28 to discuss a potential expansion of the TRIPS waiver
Sources say the beta version of the USPTO’s new trademark search tool is a big improvement over the current system but that it isn’t perfect
Canadian counsel weigh in on the IP office’s decision to raise trademark filing fees in 2024 and how they’re preparing clients
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis coverage from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Shira Perlmutter, US Register of Copyrights, discussed the Copyright Office's role in forming generative AI policy during a House of Representatives hearing
The award marks one of the highest-ever damages received by a foreign company in a trademark infringement suit in China
Two orders denying public access to documents have reignited a debate over a lack of transparency at the new court
Rouse’s new chief of operations and the firm’s CEO tell Managing IP why they think private equity backing will help it conquer Europe
Brian Landry, partner at Saul Ewing, reveals how applicants can prosecute patent applications in the wake of the Federal Circuit's In re Cellect ruling
Ronelle Geldenhuys of Australia’s Foundry IP considers the implications complex computer technologies such as AI have on decision-making