Search results for

This year saw key changes to the Regulation governing Community trade marks. But is further reform necessary? Jeremy Phillips wonders what lessons legislators could learn from the trade mark system of the mythical jurisdiction of Atlantis

More and more people are incorporating companies in Hong Kong whose names include trade marks that do not belong to them. These so-called shadow companies can confuse customers and the authorities into thinking they are related to the genuine brand owner. Adelaide Yu provides strategies for dealing with the problem

A monthly column devoted to IP curiosities and controversies, named in honour of John of Utynam - who received the world's first recorded patent in 1449

IP owners have for the past 10 years been able to file for patent protection in several countries in one simple step - with the Gulf Cooperation Council patent office. Stéphanie Bodoni spoke to Ebrahim A Al-Mannai, the GCC patent office's assistant general-director, who has been with the office since the beginning

The internet has changed the way we do business. We size up our holiday options in our lunch breaks, select our Christmas gifts online without moving from our seats and communicate with friends and associates by e-mail to plan weekend events and corporate deals. Ours is a digital age, and today's business must harness the capabilities of the internet if it is to succeed in both global and local markets. IP practices are no exception, but while IP firms have not been slow to follow the digital trends in terms of marketing their services, the same cannot always be said for the software they use to support their work.

The tide of franchising regulation continues to sweep across Europe as Belgium brings its new franchise disclosure law into effect. Mark Abell argues that this latest initiative makes it more likely that other EU states will follow the same path

Recent changes to the provisions on threats in UK patent law have created a more flexible system for patent owners and lawyers. But similar changes are now also needed for trade marks and design rights. Rachel Montagnon and Joel Smith provide an overview

Helped along by the attention given to internationally popular events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, naming rights for sports stadiums has become a lucrative business, with increasing challenges for intellectual property lawyers. Robin Lightner Maisashvili and Nina Smith explain why

Canada's courts have reaffirmed the principle of first come, first served for trade mark applications. Robert A MacDonald and Jennifer Galeano examine what the new standard means for rights owners

Rights owners used to face difficulties in obtaining evidence from non-public sources to prove infringement in Germany. But, as Reinhardt Schuster, Tilman Müller-Stoy and Birgit Strube explain, recent case law, in particular in Düsseldorf, is changing that practice