Local Insights

Pravir Palayathan of INLEX explains how the ruling strengthens protection for well-known marks and clarifies parasitism and unfair competition in disputes

Social media-fuelled demand for luxury counterfeits such as the ‘Takealot Tirkin’ is reshaping consumer culture across Africa and raising pressing questions for brands. Haadya Mosafeer of INLEX finds a potential answer in Mauritius’ response

Cwengile Cwele, with oversight from Chyreene Truluck of Spoor & Fisher South Africa, explains how the new process works and the implications for practitioners and rights holders

Ranjan Narula of RNA, Technology and IP Attorneys examines the AI copyright dispute of ANI v OpenAI, and whether a compulsory licensing framework could reconcile innovation objectives with the rights and commercial interests of creators

Ranjan Narula and Abhishek Nangia of RNA, Technology and IP Attorneys explain how the ruling clarifies the limits on the use of personal names in pharmaceutical trademarks

Min Son of Hanol IP & Law outlines the new system’s key mechanisms and implications for evidence gathering in civil litigation, with a particular focus on technology-related disputes

The market for certain spare parts used for motor vehicle repair may be liberalised in France.

Both parties are owners of registered EU trademarks consisting of the letters MK in different designs, with the additional wording "illumination". The plaintiff, an Austrian company has a business concerned with decorative illuminations in Austria and abroad. The defendant, a Czech company, is selling, lending, delivering and installing decorative illuminations and illuminated commercial signs. The defendant's EU registration is younger than that of the plaintiff.

The opponent in the case discussed in this article has owned the word mark SEVEN since 2009 and the word and design mark 7seven in a fancy script since 2014. He opposed the registration of the word mark ROOM SEVEN. All these marks were registered for identical goods in international Class 18 (bags). Among other reasons, the defendant stated that the word mark SEVEN was not used during the last five years and that he has used the mark ROOM SEVEN since 1995 in several European countries including Austria without problems. This conflict has already led to decisions in several countries. For example, the Cour d'appel de Paris did not see any danger of confusion in its decision of September 26 2017 since ROOM SEVEN will be seen by consumers as a combination in which the word SEVEN has no particular importance.

Eduardo Hallak, Rafaella Oliveira, and Laís Souza of Licks Attorneys explain how the provision operates in practice, highlighting evidential hurdles and best practices for patent applicants

Emilio Berkenwald of Berken IP says that although the move potentially eases prosecution, several issues – particularly concerning second medical use claims – remain

Eduardo Hallak, Juliana Neves, and Gabriela Monteiro of Licks Attorneys explain how Brazilian courts have reshaped divisional patent practice and assess the practical impact of the current framework

Soledad Betanzos-Lara of Becerril, Coca & Becerril explains how Mexico’s pharmaceutical and biotech patentability criteria are being reshaped by evolving examination practice

Luis Emilio Moncada of Becerril, Coca & Becerril explains why provisional measures are an increasingly valuable mechanism under Mexican intellectual property law as the country prepares to co-host the football World Cup

Fernanda Villalobos of Becerril, Coca & Becerril explains how Mexican trademark law now allows descriptive signs to acquire protection through market use and consumer recognition

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu considers how the use of AI assistants may influence clients’ general expectations regarding patent attorneys’ work

An outdated and fragmented framework is creating growing operational risk amid heightened geopolitical tension and accelerating dual-use innovation, says Dirk Pieters of IPSILON Belgium

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu considers how patent applicants may need to adapt their approaches as a result of widespread political and economic uncertainty