Local Insights

Herman Blignaut of Spoor & Fisher South Africa addresses whether the act extends to intellectual property rights and reassures brand owners that constitutional protection remains intact

David Cochrane of Spoor & Fisher South Africa explains the key updates under the act, which strengthens breeder protections while supporting vulnerable farmers and aligning with international norms

Jen Colantoni of Spoor & Fisher summarises Libya’s new $2,000 annual trademark renewal fee for foreign applicants and alerts brand owners to several strategic considerations

Editha R Hechanova and Maricris V Faderugao of Hechanova Group examine how misleading claims – from vaping and counterfeit goods to greenwashing and deceptive promotions – challenge consumer trust and highlight the need for stronger protection

Hongbo Jia of Liu, Shen & Associates examines recent Supreme People’s Court cases that reshape Chinese patent litigation in addressing damages, patent validity, and pre-litigation injunctions, with important implications for multinational businesses

Min Son of Hanol IP & Law explains an Intellectual Property High Court decision addressing the applicability of the abuse of right doctrine in a design invalidation action

Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and İrem Girenes Yücesoy of Gün and Partners draw on recent cases to explain the court’s approach to short-word trademarks and consider the weight given to dominant elements

Marta Koremba, Mateusz Żuk, and Michał Liszka of Bird & Bird report on a notable judgment concerning an infringement of the Prosecco geographical indication in the cosmetics sector

Jakob Pade Frederiksen of Inspicos analyses a ruling confirming that patent claims must be interpreted with reference to the description and drawings

Roberta Arantes of Daniel Law looks at how the Brazilian legal landscape has responded to shifts in the concept of branding and its related levels of protection

Kene Gallois and Guilherme Coutinho of Daniel Law explain how the success of the plan will pave the way for Brazil to attract further investment and opportunities

André Oliveira of Daniel Law considers how IP infringement and brand protection has evolved in Brazil amid the pandemic

In In re Odd Sox LLC, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) issued a precedential ruling, holding that the term "generic name" as used in the Trademark Act encompasses product packaging, and that the generic inquiry is applicable to assessments of source identification capabilities of product packaging.

The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (the IMPI) denied applications for the mark "Pinche Gringo BBQ" and design to Daniel Andrew Defossey and Roberto Luna Aceves, on the grounds of Article 4 of the Industrial Property Law (LPI). It stated that the mark was contrary to public order, morality and good customs. The term "Pinche" is a pejorative word and "Gringo" refers to a person born in the United States, especially one who is English-speaking. However, interestingly, the real meaning of "Pinche" is a person who provides services in the kitchen or an assistant cook.

In Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. v Goldsmith et al. No. 17-CV-2532, 2019 (S.D.N.Y. July 1 2019), the US District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the question of whether Andy Warhol's (Warhol) use of a photograph of Prince Rogers Nelson, best known as Prince, constituted violations of the Copyright Act. Granting the Andy Warhol Foundation's (AWF) motion for summary judgment, the court found that although the at-issue photograph was protected by copyright, AWF had a viable fair use defence.

Raluca Vasilescu of Cabinet M Oproiu explains her conclusions after experimenting with various AI assistants when responding to office actions in patent applications