Search results for

There have been major reforms to trade mark protection and enforcement procedures throughout eastern and southern Europe in recent years. Ingrid Hering examines how attorneys are adapting to the changes

While counterfeiting is still a scourge of international business, many governments have made progress in improving protection in the past year. James Nurton, Ingrid Hering and Ralph Cunningham reveal the leading firms in trade mark/copyright work in 30 markets across the world

As the annual review of the USTR’s Special 301 monitoring approaches, many Latin American countries have a lot to prove. James Nurton reports

Owners of design rights have any number of laws to rely on when protecting their products in China. But too much uncertainty surrounds the best legal option to take. The authorities must make protection easier, argues Jan De Visser

When it comes to using patents to provide more brand and shareholder value, some companies may be getting in the way of their own success. In the following excerpt from their chapter in the book From Ideas to Assets – Investing Wisely in Intellectual Property (John Wiley & Sons), Bruce Berman and James D Woods show how the importance of these patents may be overlooked and under-communicated

A recent judgment in the US found that unlicensed linking and framing constitutes copyright infringement. All website operators should take note, explains Lawrence R Robins

The Tokyo High Court has upheld the Japanese Patent Office ban on obtaining trade marks for retail services. The internationalization of the country’s trade mark system could persuade the authorities to change their stance, say Shusaku Yamamoto and John Tessensohn

You are getting a lot more than simply going to the patent office to do your search

A trademark owner in the Netherlands has the right to lodge an application, in writing, with the the customs authorities requiring them to keep a watch for counterfeit goods. This is on the basis of EU regulation 3295/94 (December 22 1994) and EU regulation 1367/95 (June 16 1995) which both came into force in the Netherlands on July 1 1997. On the basis of this application, customs authorities are allowed to detain or to suspend the release of a suspicious consignment for a brief period, during which the trademark holder can initiate legal measures.

The German Act Relating to Inventions of Employees (the Act) provides that an employer may, within a period of four months, claim an invention made by an employee which either results from the employee's work under the employment contract or is essentially based on the know-how of the employer. For such a claimed invention, a patent application must be filed. In return, the employee is entitled to compensation when the invention is used by the employer. Unfortunately, the administrative provisions of the Act cause considerable paper work. Large companies estimate that the costs for handling employment inventions in compliance with the provisions of the Act are in the same range as the compensation to be paid to the employed inventors for the use of these inventions.