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In Twentieth Century Fox Television v Empire Distribution the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently addressed the issue of the appropriate test to apply when an allegedly infringing use is in the title or within the body of an expressive work.

Although the amended Trademark Law has a new provision on "the principle of honesty and credit" under Article 7, by nature of its generality and flexibility, it is generally not taken as a direct basis for making rulings on opposition and invalidation cases, but is subject to discretion in practice. Article 41 (1) contains the provision on "…obtaining registration through other improper means," but applicable scope was not legally defined. We need to find additional supports from typical cases or guiding opinions by the High Court or judicial interpretation of the Supreme Court. China is not a case law country, at the stage of administrative examination before the Chinese Trademark Office (CTMO) precedent cases are not persuasive, let alone binding. Therefore, facing many obvious pirate applications/registrations, the true owners are not able to find quick recourse before CTMO. Since there has yet to be effective and efficient methods to get back their rightful rights other than by trade mark assignment, if they do not opt to pay exorbitant fees as compensation they have to rebrand for the Chinese market resulting in a heavy burden. This has become a big issue against judicial efficiency and justice, and also has perplexed many American and European trade mark owners thus far.

A recent case Scomadi Ltd & Anr v RA Engineering Co at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) referencing two Registered Community Designs (RCD) showed the importance of accurate agreements between parties involved in manufacture and sales. The issues before the judge were breach of contract and infringement relating to three scooter models manufactured and sold by RA Engineering. The registered rights were two Registered Community Designs for motor scooters. The RCDs were owned by Scomadi who themselves sold a portfolio of retro-style vehicles with the look of the well-known 1960s Lambretta scooters.

The case reported here concerns the application for registration of a word mark GROOVE in relation to "condoms" (class 10).

Cedric Lam, Lilian Shi and Ivy Tsui of Dorsey & Whitney explain how celebrities can prevent misuse of their names in China and provide a summary of key cases concerning famous figures such as Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson

Managing IP discusses the most important issues and cases that will impact patent litigation in 2018 with top litigators, including TC Heartland, NPEs, the ITC, MDL trends and Section 101

Ellie Mertens rounds up recent intellectual property news, including the Fourth Circuit's Redskins ruling, the PTAB invalidation of a cancer drug patent, antitrust suits against Allergan, an Eagles trade mark settlement, Google and Tencent’s cross-licence, a Federal Circuit ruling on royalties, LG’s dismissed appeal at the European General Court, a new TPP, an Australian SEP case, Marathon’s blockchain patents acquisition, and Argentina’s implementation of an IP decree

Observers bemoan the lack of clear guidance after Beijing IP Court judge rules there was no infringement of a GUI design patent in a highly-anticipated case

The High Court considers patentability issues and distinctiveness of foreign words, while the federal court considers unique preliminary discovery application. Chris Jordan and Jessica Sapountsis of Davies Collison Cave offer an overview

Marketers often want to reference other people’s trade marks. But what are legitimate defences to infringement in these and other circumstances? Specialists in six countries discuss the law and recent cases