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The launch of new gTLDs has rather overshadowed the rise of internationalised domain names (IDNs). But with several markets already taking registrations, brands need to work out which domains they want

It is hard to imagine that anyone would attempt to cancel the Teflon trade mark in Cyrillic (TEOJIOH) as not being used on the Russian market. But someone did. This was Pilot Ltd, a large Russian trading company. It was selling kitchenware and filed a cancellation action against the trade mark TEOJIOH (registration number 140510) with the Russian Chamber of Patent Disputes.

ATaiwanese company applied to register a trade mark containing the wording Apple Line and a device in Class 16 (paper products) and Class 18 (bags, leather goods, and umbrellas) in 2007, and the two applications subsequently matured into registrations. Apple Inc filed opposition actions, alleging, among other things, that the registered mark was similar to its famous marks, including Apple and the Apple logo. While the Taiwan IPO acknowledged the fame of Apple Inc's marks, it did not consider the two parties' marks to be similar to such an extent as to engender consumer confusion. The IPO expressed that (1) apple is the name of a common fruit, the marks Apple and the Apple logo are not creative and have a low degree of distinctive quality; and (2) since there are various trade mark registrations containing the word apple or an apple device, consumers may readily discern such trade marks.

Microsoft used World IP Day to call for stronger IP protection and urge the IT industry, governments and consumers to speak out about the importance of IP rights

Our earlier reports have covered the injunction sought by Nestlé based on trade mark law with the Court of Commerce of St Gaul against the sale of Nespresso-compatible coffee capsules by the Swiss discounter Denner. Another action has been brought forward by Nestlé with the Court of Commerce of Zurich in this regard, but based on two patents from its portfolio for the Nespresso coffee capsule system. The subject matter of the two patents is a coffee extraction method and the capsule containing coffee as a closed package. The Zurich court found no patent infringement for both patents and denied the injunction. For the method patent the court considered that the coffee machines by which the extraction method is performed by the buyers of the machines had been brought on the market with the consent of Nestlé and thus the use of the extraction method was a lawful act performed by the buyers of the machines. Accordingly, the Court found that there can be no contributory infringement of Denner by the sale of coffee capsules to be used in such a lawful use of the machines. This conforms to Swiss law and practice regarding contributory infringement. For the patent on a coffee capsule the Court found that the Denner capsules, which are not fully closed but have holes, do not fall within the scope of the patent since these capsules do not provide optimum conservation and hygiene and a good reproducibility of the extraction. The Court considered that the Denner capsules may lose ground coffee through the holes so that the amount of coffee for the extraction may not be constant for each capsule. The Denner capsules are sold in air-tight sachets but the Court found it had not been made credible that these sachets have the same technical effect as the patented closed capsules.

Last year saw a surge in domain name speculation in the .fr ccTLD, according to a report released this week

The Milo mark The device mark The terms chocolate and malt drink immediately conjure up images of Nestlé's popular beverage Milo. The drink has been so popular that the company often projects very large market share figures. Although the beverage itself and the term Milo have been used for over half a century, the evolution of the brand and the logo witnessed the addition of the device seen opposite, a geometric shape that framed the word Milo. In this case, Nestlé successfully registered the marks Milo and the Thai equivalent . However, the company faced an uphill battle to register the logo.

Icann has appointed a famous hacker as its new chief security officer.

Since the death of Osama Bin Laden last week, domain names using his name have seen a surge in traffic. None are used for commercial purposes, however, unless you count partial names.

On September 21 2010, the Government of Vietnam promulgated Decree 97, which provided stronger administrative sanctions for violations of industrial property in Vietnam, replacing Decree 106 from dated September 2000 on the same issues. Decree 97 defines categories of acts considered violations, various forms and levels of penalties, remedies and procedures for imposing sanctions, as well as competence of local authorities to handle such violations.