Her Majesty’s Treasurer has released the Gower Review of Intellectual Property. IPKat took a quick look and notes highlights in the recomendations: NO copyright extension; Fast-track trademark registration process for small business; enhanced safe-harbors against copyright infringement. Attention UK practitioners: after you’ve had a chance to mull, send me links to your comments.
Managing
When I’m 64
CNN: “Aging Rockers Set To Lose Copyrights” (UK mulls copyright extensions, background here).
Copyright Term Extension For Sound Recordings in the UK?
Copyfight: “No ‘Sergeant Pepper’ Law in the UK”
IPKat speculates on same.
WuMart Everyday Low Price
The WSJ ran its regular article on trademark piracy in China today. In this crop was HONGDA Motorcycle, ROEWE Cars, CHERY cars, REDBERRY hand-held communications devices and WUMART retail stores, which feature every day low prices.
STARBUCKS v STARPREYA: How Close You Can Come in Korea
Not referring to nuclear brinkmanship. How close you can come to the look and feel of a trademark in South Korea without infringing that trademark. You can come this close.
IPKat comments here.
PRC: PLAYBOY v. PEARLBOY
BBC: ‘Playboy sues over China bunny.‘ HT Ed.
“Germany: Trademarks As Meta Tags”
From Lovells September 2006 newsletter: “Germany: Trademarks As Meta Tags” (discussion of German Supreme Court decision re whetherunauthorized use of a trademark as a meta tag constitutes infringement in Germany (yes)).
New Ethiopia Trademark Law
From NJQ & Associates: Ethiopia Trademark Registration and Protection Proclamation
Sorry Mac, MacCoffee Too Close to McCafe
SHOOX v. NIKE SHOX in Argentina
From the August 15 INTA newsletter comes a report of a May decision in Argentina in which the owner of SHOOX for Class 25 items successfully cancelled Nike’s Class 25 registration for NIKE SHOX. The Federal Court of Appeals noted that a second comer may not overcome a challenge when adopting a confusingly similar mark