Local Insights

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

New patent and utility model procedures and updated fees form part of a legislative update to the Bangui Agreement that became effective in the new year, explains Craig Kahn of Spoor & Fisher Jersey

Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher Jersey considers application of the Madrid Protocol across Africa as Ethiopia’s intellectual property practice looks set to move closer to global standards

While Indonesia’s first-to-file principle creates an opportunity for trademark squatting, Robbaita Zahra and Wongrat Ratanaprayul of Tilleke & Gibbins say Bitmain’s successful cancellation actions indicate the legal system’s ability to address unfair practices

Min Son of Hanol IP & Law explains how a Patent Act revision empowers South Korean patentees to take direct action against export-based infringement, enhancing enforcement and aligning the law with other intellectual property regimes

Early adaptation to manage an unpredictable transition is vital, say Linh Duy Mai, Giang Hoang Bach, and Diep Thi Bich Le of T&G Law Firm LLC (TGVN), the local associate of Tilleke & Gibbins

Selin Sinem Erciyas and Beste Turan Kurtoğlu of Gün + Partners analyse a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling that could reshape patent litigation strategies and increase competition between international courts

Wendela Hårdemark and Beatrice Rälg of Bird & Bird explore the outlook for Swedish copyright law, as reciprocity rules are set to be dismantled, and contract interpretation takes a decisive new direction

Wilhelm Eger of Maiwald Intellectual Property examines how the Pemetrexed case has influenced European approaches to patent infringement under the doctrine of equivalency and how numbers and measurements are addressed

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

The reform of August 10 2018 to the Mexican Industrial Property Law substantially changed the Mexican trademark landscape. Among the most relevant changes brought by this legislative reform, particularly the acceptance on behalf of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) of non-conventional trademark applications – such as smell and sound trademarks – positions Mexico today at the forefront of innovation.

In In re TracFone Wireless, Inc., the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) issued yet another decision finding that a particular designation fails to function as a mark – the subject of over 21% of precedential rulings this year. These decisions highlight the importance of brand owners, marketing teams, advertising departments and legal counsel coordinating effectively.

In Universal Standard Inc. v Target Corp. (S.D.N.Y., No. 18 Civ. 6042), the US District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the question of whether sharing attorney-client privileged communications with a public relations firm destroys that privilege. The court found that Universal Standard waived the privilege by including its public relations firm, BrandLink, in emails discussing strategy related to the lawsuit.