In a September 30 2013 decision (4A_128/2013) the Federal Supreme Court ruled on the extent to which a trademark in use may differ from its registration in order to preserve the rights attached to it. The decision shows that the respective scope is very limited.For more visit: http://www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters/detail.aspx?g=56278914-df66-4b6c-a2a2-751869d055a3
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Interesting Swiss SC Ruling on TM
Monday, February 17, 2014
Comedy Central Starbucks Parody
Many of us may have said it, especially coffee aficionados, labelling coffee juggernaut Starbucks as 'Dumb Starbucks'. Well a comedian took the idea even further and opened up a parody shop with the same Starbucks logo but with the 'Dumb' attached to the name. It was subsequently shut down (over health violations). The comedian in charge contends that the name is legal falling under parody use. Does that work in this case? More here.
http://www.ibtimes.com/dumb-starbucks-coffee-trademark-law-brilliant-parody-or-blatant-infringement-1554483
Friday, November 29, 2013
TM Application Being Voided?
Is your trademark application at risk of being voided? Read on for more in this article:
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=17845121-3871-4f37-8ded-08ac70b3353f
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Simplicity of Copyright in America
Got $30 bucks? Then copywriting your written work is at your fingertips, almost literally. Over the next month we will explore what it takes to register a work with the US Copyright office. Details to come.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
To pass or quash? America Invents Act Changes
If you're an entrepreneur/inventor and you have a great idea, the fact you have a patent or will get one is irrelevant to investors. Why?
a) patents can be stolen (then tied up in courts by bigger firms);
b) there's a two year wait on applications thereby making some inventions obsolete by the team they're released.
It's the latter that is being addressed in a bill put forward to the House. Currently the backlog at the U.S. Patent office is around 700,000 people ahead of you in line.
Congress is expected to vote this week on a patent reform bill that would change the rules about who gets to file for a patent. Republican members of Congress from California are split over the measure.
That legislation is the America Invents Act. Its cosponsors include California Republican congressmen Darrell Issa and Elton Gallegly.
It’s opposed by a bipartisan group of House members that includes Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach.
We'll keep you posted on development on the House results.
Some more thoughts:
Pro:
http://www.chamberpost.com/2011/06/pass-the-america-invents-act/
Con:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/167565-the-america-invents-act-is-bad-for-the-economy
a) patents can be stolen (then tied up in courts by bigger firms);
b) there's a two year wait on applications thereby making some inventions obsolete by the team they're released.
It's the latter that is being addressed in a bill put forward to the House. Currently the backlog at the U.S. Patent office is around 700,000 people ahead of you in line.
Congress is expected to vote this week on a patent reform bill that would change the rules about who gets to file for a patent. Republican members of Congress from California are split over the measure.
That legislation is the America Invents Act. Its cosponsors include California Republican congressmen Darrell Issa and Elton Gallegly.
It’s opposed by a bipartisan group of House members that includes Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach.
We'll keep you posted on development on the House results.
Some more thoughts:
Pro:
http://www.chamberpost.com/2011/06/pass-the-america-invents-act/
Con:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/167565-the-america-invents-act-is-bad-for-the-economy
Thursday, May 19, 2011
What TLDs have to do with TM?
Copyright notices should go out to all major brans as ICANN beings their gTLD process.
Too much web jargon for you?
Let me break it down.
The TLD, or top level domain, is everything to the right of the last period in your domain name.
www.example.com, the TLD is .com
www.example.edu, the TLD is.edu
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
ICANN is now going to permit applications for any number of iterations for new TLDs.
That means you could conceivable get .cars, .meat, .sex, etc.
You could also apply for .apple, .ibm, etc.
Most brandable corporations, especially ones with three letters in the name, are aware of the change. But I'm willing to bet there's going to be a slew of infringement cases hitting courtrooms as people try to capitalize on sleepy brand managers.
Certainly a boon of work for TM attorneys....
Too much web jargon for you?
Let me break it down.
The TLD, or top level domain, is everything to the right of the last period in your domain name.
www.example.com, the TLD is .com
www.example.edu, the TLD is.edu
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
ICANN is now going to permit applications for any number of iterations for new TLDs.
That means you could conceivable get .cars, .meat, .sex, etc.
You could also apply for .apple, .ibm, etc.
Most brandable corporations, especially ones with three letters in the name, are aware of the change. But I'm willing to bet there's going to be a slew of infringement cases hitting courtrooms as people try to capitalize on sleepy brand managers.
Certainly a boon of work for TM attorneys....
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