In Teksystems v Teksavvy Solutions, the US District Court for the District of Maryland addressed the issue of whether a party's threat to initiate a cancellation action against a trade mark registration before the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) was sufficient to create a case or controversy which provides a basis upon which a party may seek a declaratory judgment concerning the validity of a mark.
New IP law abolished the provisions concerning the use requirement of patents and evidence on use detailed in the Decree Law on the Protection of Patent Rights. Instead, IP law now mentions the use requirement within the provision on compulsory licences, as a consequence of non-use of a patent.
In January 2018, Thailand's efforts to strengthen its IP system and enforcement processes for counterfeit and pirated goods were recognised with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) removing Thailand from its Priority Watch List for intellectual property. Thailand had been on the USTR Priority Watch List for more than a decade.
In its recent decision X ZR 55/16 – Trommeleinheit, the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) further clarifies previous case law on the exhaustion of patent rights.
In Nigeria there were two important trade mark judgments, both of which went in favour of foreign companies. In the case of Piaggio & CSPA v Autobahn Techniques and the Registrar of Trademarks (Federal High Court, Lagos, November 30 2017) the court made it clear that a Nigerian distributor cannot take the trade mark of its foreign principal. The judge sent this warning to Nigerian distributors: extensive promotion does not amount to 'acquisition of proprietorship and goodwill.'
A decree has changed the rules for intellectual property in Argentina, quite drastically in some instances. Iris V Quadrio, Martín Bensadon and Iván A Poli analyse the most important modifications
Clients are struggling to ban infringing goods from the internet, we experience difficulties making payments because our bank is under a Distributed Denial of Service attack and we frequently receive phishing mails and spam. Despite this, Pirate Bay and illegal streaming can be tempting (even to IP professionals).
Tish Berard, the new president of the International Trademark Association, discusses the association’s plans for 2018 in an interview with Ellie Mertens
A non-use court action is routine for the IP court. Every year several hundred cases are considered and granted. Sometimes, however, a cancellation action stumbles at unexpected obstacles.
If, like Utynam, you love internet memes almost as much as you love IP, you will have delighted in the news at the end of January. The owners of the feline known as Grumpy Cat won $700,000 in a copyright infringement case in California.
