Topic: Trademark

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USPTO warns of unauthorized changes to trademark files

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Trademark
On October 19, 2018, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) posted a general warning on its website that unauthorized changes have been made to “a number” of active trademark applications and registrations. The PTO indicated that the unauthorized changes affect “a small percentage of total applications and registrations.” What can you do? If you … Continue reading

Canadian Anti-counterfeiting under the USMCA – what you see? We (mostly) already got it

Karen MacDonald (CA)By Karen MacDonald (CA) on Posted in Counterfeiting, Trademark
The USMCA – aka NAFTA 2.0 – has a Chapter devoted to intellectual property, which has been the subject much consideration and debate since release of the text on October 1, 2018.  With some commentators lamenting that Canada “caved” to US demands and predicting that the IP provisions of the USMCA will stifle Canada’s innovation … Continue reading

Amended Australian IP laws receive Royal Assent with little fanfare

Georgina Hey (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Copyright, General, Trademark
On 24 August 2018, the creatively named Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 1 and Other Measures) Bill 2018 quietly received Royal Assent, with some parts of the new Act entering into force the following day. As the name indicates, the primary focus of the new legislation is to implement the recommendations made … Continue reading

V Energy loses a mother of a battle over color trademark: Australia court’s decision in Frucor v Coca-Cola

Helen Macpherson (AU)Alyson Poole (AU)By Helen Macpherson (AU) and Alyson Poole (AU) on Posted in Trademark
We, as consumers, regularly associate colours with our favourite brands as we stroll down supermarket aisles and peer at billboards and banners in shopping centres.  But for brand holders, gaining protection for proprietary colours is not a walk in the (green) park.  The recent decision of Frucor Beverages Limited v The Coca-Cola Company [2018] FCA … Continue reading

Trademarks, social media and lessons learned

Susan Ross (US)By Susan Ross (US) on Posted in Trademark
On June 14, 2018, a federal trial court in New York issued a decision relating to a restaurant owner’s claim that the restaurant manager was using the owner’s trademarks on social media in violation of the federal trademark law known as the Lanham Act. The trial court denied the owner’s claim, in a ruling that … Continue reading

Mirror, mirror on the wall, what’s my taxable Insta value after all?

Georgina Hey (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Advertising, Trademark
In sad news for celebrities and Instagram influencers across Australia, the introduction of the so-called ‘fame tax’ as part of a raft of integrity measures announced in the 2018/19 budget means that they could end up paying higher taxes on the income and non-cash benefits earned through the commercial exploitation of their image rights. In … Continue reading

Threat or hope for Louboutin’s iconic red sole trade mark? AG Szpunar opines that a mark’s ‘reputation’ should not be confused with ‘substantial value’

Clare Jackman (UK)By Clare Jackman (UK) on Posted in Trademark
The trade mark consists of “the colour red (Pantone 18 1663TP) applied to the sole of a shoe as shown (the contour of the shoe is not part of the trade mark but is intended to show the positioning of the mark”) Following a reference from The Netherlands (District Court of The Hague) considering the … Continue reading

Changes proposed regarding parallel imports – An exhausting concept for Australian trade mark owners?

Frances Drummond (AU)Rebecca Brenikov (AU)By Frances Drummond (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on Posted in Trademark
In this article, we consider; the changes to the Trade Marks Act proposed in respect of parallel imports which the Draft Explanatory Memorandum states are aimed at ensuring that the law “better meet[s] the objective of facilitating the parallel importation of goods into Australia to the benefit of consumers by limiting the strategic use of … Continue reading

The European Commission has its say: EU trade marks post-Brexit

Georgina Hey (AU)Sophie Lees (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Sophie Lees (AU) on Posted in Trademark
On 28 February 2018, the European Commission released its draft withdrawal agreement setting out a proposal on the arrangements for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU (Withdrawal Agreement). The full text of the Withdrawal Agreement can be viewed here: European Commission’s Draft Withdrawal Agreement dated 28 February 2018 (see Title IV on Intellectual … Continue reading

Cybersquatters – How to protect your brand from unwanted ‘guests’ online

Georgina Hey (AU)Rebecca Brenikov (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on Posted in Advertising, Trademark
The internet is now the normal conduit for everyday personal, commercial and social transactions. It is more important than ever to ensure that your consumers know where to find your business online, and that no third parties are seeking to trade off your reputation in the online space. Domain names are the primary form of … Continue reading

Shocking your clients just became passé: US Court takes away the edge from scandalous brands

Frances Drummond (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Frances Drummond (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Trademark
Thanks to two recent rulings of the US Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit Court, trade marks containing “disparaging”, “immoral” and “scandalous” matter are no longer barred from obtaining registration in the United States of America. In the past, the US Patent and Trade Mark Office (USPTO) had the power … Continue reading

Cosmetic Warriors Lose Trademark Battle – No Use in “the Normal Course of Trade”

Mark Edward Davis (CA)By Mark Edward Davis (CA) on Posted in Trademark
A Canadian trademark registered in association with goods must be used in “the normal course of trade”. Riches, McKenzie & Herbert LLP v. Cosmetic Warriors Limited, 2018 FC 63, considered whether Cosmetic Warriors’ registered trademark, LUSH, was used in association with t-shirts in the normal course of trade.  Cosmetic Warriors sold the t-shirts to employees for promotional purposes. On the evidence, Justice Manson concluded … Continue reading

Trade mark update: 11th Edition of the Nice Classification came into force on 1 January 2018

Frances Drummond (AU)Rebecca Brenikov (AU)By Frances Drummond (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on Posted in Trademark
As many of you will know, the Nice Classification is the international system used to classify goods and services for trade mark purposes. The World Intellectual Property Office regularly updates and amends the Nice Classification in order to ensure that the lists remain current and include new products and services that come to market. On … Continue reading

What Brexit means for IP: The UK Law Society, the IP Bar, CIPA and CITMA weigh in on Brexit strategy

Georgina Hey (AU)Rebecca Brenikov (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on Posted in Advertising, General, Trademark
It’s no surprise that many in the professional and legal services industries are putting increasing thought into what the post-Brexit world will, or should, look like. The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) in the UK has been the latest body to put its two cents (or pennies) into the mix. Brand owners from all … Continue reading

Brands Around the World: Best Practices Roundtable on Protecting Your Valuable Brand

Mark Edward Davis (CA)By Mark Edward Davis (CA) on Posted in Counterfeiting, Trademark
On Monday, November 13, 2017, Norton Rose Fulbright’s New York office was pleased to host an international roundtable on best practices for brand protection. Moderated by Linda Merritt of our Dallas office, the event featured presentations by: Georgina Hey, Sydney Clare Jackman, London Karen MacDonald, Vancouver Daniel Marschollek, Frankfurt / Munich The roundtable brought together … Continue reading

Getting Ready for Change – Nice Classification Comes to Canada

Catherine Daigle (CA)By Catherine Daigle (CA) on Posted in Trademark
In anticipation of the upcoming changes to the Trade-marks Act (the “Act”), now scheduled to take place in 2019, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) is inviting owners of registered trademarks that are due for renewals as of January 2018 to voluntarily categorize the goods and services covered by their registration based on the Nice Classification … Continue reading

‘Apples, Beatles and four decades of litigation’ – Cautionary tales for start-ups settling on a new brand name

Georgina Hey (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Trademark
Apple: the world’s most successful company, with an estimated worth of three-quarters of a trillion dollars. It’s no wonder that would-be tech entrepreneurs around the world are sitting around in black turtlenecks, jeans and New Balance sneakers, poring over Steve Jobs’ biography and trying to work out how they might emulate his success in their … Continue reading

Rebranding 4.0: Why authenticity matters to socially-aware consumers, and how to convey it

Georgina Hey (AU)Rebecca Brenikov (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on Posted in Advertising, Trademark
Increasingly affordable renewables, coupled with consumers’ sensitivity to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, are driving a profound shift in energy markets worldwide. Nowhere is this more apparent than in brand equity, and the trust levels displayed by the public towards traditional energy businesses versus green, dynamic start-ups. Rebranding is a powerful tool to close … Continue reading

Get your IP game on: intellectual property protection and video games

Jordana Sanft (CA)By Jordana Sanft (CA) on Posted in Copyright, Trademark
The video game industry around the world and in Canada is booming. Not only does this market create new and varied forms of entertainment, it also creates jobs and generates staggering sales revenues. Industry statistics for the United States show sales of computer and video games having increased from $10.1 billion in 2009 to $24.5 … Continue reading

Promoting an innovation economy – Australian Government responds to Productivity Commission’s report into IP arrangements

Georgina Hey (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Copyright, Trademark
We recently published an article on the potential impact on the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry Report on Intellectual Property Arrangements (Report) on Australia’s innovation economy. The Australian Government has now responded to the Report, supporting the Commission’s recommendations to reform the patent system, but stopping short of embracing the extensive copyright overhaul recommended in the Report, … Continue reading
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