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On January 6 2006 a Benelux trade mark application for the word "ius" was filed for services in classes 35 and 42. The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property refused the mark for lack of distinctive character, arguing that "the sign 'ius' (Latin for law) is descriptive for the services in classes 35 and 42 relating to legal issues". Even though counter arguments were filed with the Benelux Office, the refusal of the mark became final and an appeal with the Court of Appeal Brussels was filed. In 2009, the Court of Appeal ordered that the Benelux application for ius should be registered. This decision was cancelled by the Cassation Court and returned to the Court of Appeal Brussels.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand has issued the first New Zealand decision on wrong way round confusion (TomTom International BV v TomTom Communications Limited [2015] NZIPOTM 2). If it stands, this decision is a cautionary tale for smaller businesses that may not be able to prevent another business with a large reputation entering the market with an identical mark, even where there is evidence of consumer confusion.

The Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR) has developed an e-filing system for copyright registration since mid-2014. According to the Indonesian Copyright Law No 28 of 2014, copyrights can be registered although the right itself exists only once the creation has been created. The registration of a copyright is only a supporting tool for the copyright owner to get their copyright recorded at the database of the DGIPR.

On March 25 2015, in Taiwan Kolin Corporation Ltd v Kolin Electronics Co, Inc (GR No 209843), the Philippine Supreme Court held that "whether or not the products covered by trade mark sought to be registered by Taiwan Kolin on the one hand and those covered by the prior issued certificate of registration in favour of Kolin Electronics, on the other, fall under the same categories in the Nice Classification (NCL) is not the sole and decisive factor in determining a possible violation of Kolin Electronics' intellectual property right....emphasis should be on the similarity of the products and not on the arbitrary classification or general description of their properties or characteristics"." The contending marks are shown below.

The Patent Office examined the appeal on the official action of the examiner who refused registration of a trade mark in application number 2012728603 with priority of August 17 2012 with regard to goods in class 9 and services in class 35.

According to the Mexican Industrial Property Law, legally organised associations or companies of producers, manufacturers, merchants or renderers of services may apply for the registration of a collective trade mark to distinguish the products or services of their members with respect to those of others from third parties. The law also states that collective trade marks shall be governed in the absence of special provisions, by those set forth in this Law for individual trade marks.

On January 30 2015, the Ministry of Finance introduced Circular 13/2015/ TT-BTC guiding the implementation of regulations in the new Law on Customs on Customs enforcement against IP infringement. Circular 13 took effect on March 15 2015, and, in line with the new law, brought about changes to the border control measures that had been in place in Vietnam for the past decade. Two months into the new regime, it appears that these changes, though seemingly not substantial, have increased the transparency as well as the effectiveness of Customs enforcement.

Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods defines the term "light/lite" and its permissible use. A matter of interpretation arises though due to the fact that the Greek text of this Regulation expressly provides for a definition that differs from the one appearing in all the other versions. In particular, the Greek version contains the explanation that "light/lite" is confined to products of "reduced calories", whereas such an explanation does not appear in the other versions of the same Regulation, where there is a broader requirement, according to which the indication at issue shall be accompanied by an indication of the characteristics, which make(s) the food "light/lite".

Using the patenting of an innovation as a commercial argument is as old as patenting itself which dates from the early 19th century.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal recently rendered a final decision in favour of Swarovski Aktiengesellschaft in a lawsuit against Bogdan Radulescu, the sole shareholder of the Romanian company B&B Marketing Online. The company traded jewellery, watches and pens under the Swarovski trade marks through the site www.crystalglamour.ro.