April 27, 2006
April 24, 2006
Three Years In A Barrel In Scotland
From the Wiki entry for Scotch Whiskey:
" [T]he Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 which clarified the Scotch Whisky Act of 1988, and mandates that the spirit:
Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
Must be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavour of the raw materials used in its production,
Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for not less than three years, and
Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel colour."
If it doesn't meet these criteria, then it may not be called Scotch Whiskey.
The Delhi Court has now ruled that, pursuant to India's obligations under TRIPS, that a name may not otherwise suggest a Scottish origin, as it recently prohibited the use of RED SCOT.
April 19, 2006
China Daily: 'Luxury Brands Win Trademark Lawsuit"
China Daily: "Luxury Brands Win Trademark Lawsuit" (Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci and Burberry win $2500 each from market selling counterfeits).
March 28, 2006
WIPO To Announce "Singapore Treaty"?
This Channelnewsasia.com article reports that WIPO has announced a revised Trademark Law Treaty, to be named the Singapore Treaty, after the location of the recent conference. No announcement on the WIPO site yet. Background here.
February 24, 2006
'Not Made In China'
IPKat on the possibly descriptive, possible disparaging mark NOT MADE IN CHINA, filed for in the EEC. The article cited by IPKat reports that the same applicant, Alvito, filed in the U.S. but was rejected. This may not be correct, as I found three pending design applications by Alvito for that mark, all of which have not yet been examined. However a different entity has filed in the U.S. for NOT MADE IN CHINA as well, and it received a preliminary geographical descriptiveness objection. Several registrations contain the words MADE IN CHINA, and have disclaimed that term.
UPDATE: TTABlog on a prior TTAB decision on NOT MADE IN FRANCE.
February 11, 2006
RED CROSS in Canada
Cory Doctorow on the Canadian Red Cross policing the RED CROSS symbol.
January 25, 2006
Cooper v. Cooper in New Zealand
January 17, 2006
UGG BOOTS in Australia
January 12, 2006
PICARO Not Likely To Be Confused With PICASSO
IPKat on Estate of Picasso failing to block applicaton for PICARO for vehicles (prevailing party depicted above).
January 06, 2006
IPOD v. SPODRADIO in Germany
IPOD v. SPODRADIO in Germany, via The Alarm Clock, hat tip Jay. Bonus reference to Caveman Lawyer in article.
January 05, 2006
Jan Jansen v. Armani
Amsterdam District Court holds that Armani shoe infringes Jan Jansen's 'Tutti Piedi.' Via Lovell's IP Newsletter (containing photo of both shoes).
January 04, 2006
India: Copyright Infringement of Database
January 03, 2006
STARBUCKS in China
Starbucks prevails in China against infringer, via a new blog from the WSJ named, LAW BLOG, with free Eddie Murphy reference.
December 21, 2005
UK Trademark Office Says Fcuk That To Invalidation Action
December 19, 2005
Ferns Belong To All New Zealanders
and therefore the New Zealand Rugby Union cannot register it as a trademark. Via stuff.co.nz.
November 29, 2005
SUN v. PURPLE SUN in the UK
VODAFONE v. VODAFONE in Russia
Vodafone goes after name squatter in Russia.
Similar story re STARBUCKs in Russia here.
November 22, 2005
Odd Story Regarding IKEA in Russia
November 21, 2005
Wilkinson and Gillette Cross Blades
Wilkinson and Gillette litigate: 'A Competitive Edge In A Cutthroat Market' via BrandChannel.
Additionally commentary from The Onion here (hat tip Douglas).
November 14, 2005
Vietnamese Trademarks Not Protected Abroad
Bloomberg v. PengBo
Bloomberg LP apparently uses the trademark PENGBO in China. It has sued two Chinese companies for using that mark. The article doesn't explain why Bloomberg uses that trademark.
This may be completely missing the issue in this case, but some Western companies use neither a translation nor a transliteration (characters that produce the phonetic equivalent of the name) in China, but use a connotative equivalent. If you have insight on the Bloomberg situation, pass it along.
November 07, 2005
Validity of FIFA Trademarks
OHIM confirms FIFA World Cup Trademarks. Via Sportsbusiness.com.
Prior discussion of case by Lovells here.
'China's Logo Crackdown'
From Friday's Wall Street Journal (sorry, I'm running behind), an article (no free online version available) entitled 'China's Logo Crackdown,' discussing the absence of infringements of the logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The question is raised: if China can effectively stop the infringement of one trademark, can it effectively stop the infringement of other trademarks.
November 02, 2005
What You Cannot Do In Australia
You cannot copy your CD onto your iPod in Australia. More here.
UK Found To Be Convenient Forum For NY Company
IPKAT reports on a forum non conveniens application by Atari of NY denied in a UK court. Maybe the IPKAT can expand upon its observation as to 'how infrequently an application to stay UK proceedings in favour of a foreign action is ever successful - at least in IP disputes.'
October 24, 2005
STARBUCKS Encounters Trademark Squatter In Russia
Starbucks prevented from expanding into Russia due to trademark cybersquatter. Via The Age.
Discussion of protection of famous marks in Russia by Starbuck's attorney.
October 19, 2005
Google Changes GMAIL to GOOGLEMAIL in the UK Due to Trademark Protest
Reuters reports that Google will stop using GMAIL and will instead use GOOGLEMAIL in the UK, as a result of a trademark protest from an owner of prior rights in the term.
I will subtly point out here that our firm performs trademark clearance searches and provides availability opinions for the U.S. and abroad, working with a network of international attorneys.
October 14, 2005
ART ATTACK Owner Cashes In
New Zealand trademark owner of ART ATTACK receives windfall. Via NewsTalk ZB.