UPC Update February 2018: UK and DE progress and the future of the UPC
The UK has now completed all its legislative steps with respect to the UPC Agreement and UPC’s Protocol on Privileges and Immunities and is in a position to ratify the UPC Agreement. However, the potential timescale of the constitutional court challenge in Germany and the remaining ratification/implementation period means, in IPcopy’s view, that the UPC system will not come into force, at least in its current configuration. (more…)
Olympics 2018: IP at the Ice Hockey
The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang are in full flow and while curling has been winning a new fan in the A-Team’s Mr T (#curlingiscoolfool), IPcopy has been watching the ice hockey. Or, more accurately, our colleague Samantha Walker-Smith was watching the preliminary round match between the USA and Finland. Now, while most of us might be content in marvelling at the skating skill levels on display and mentally comparing those skills to our feeble efforts at the Christmas wonderland ice rink a few weeks ago (…or maybe that was just me), Sam had other things on her mind. In particular, Sam noticed1 that the hockey sticks of the Finnish team were displaying patent markings! (more…)
Abuse of IP: The Effects of Counterfeiting on the Fashion Industry
The phenomenon of counterfeiting has been around as long as couture itself. The rise of the internet and e-commerce has created an ideal breeding ground for counterfeiting due to the anonymity it provides and the proliferation of distribution channels. Protection against counterfeiting is difficult because it requires continuous monitoring of a brand and how its trade marks are used. (more…)
Mother Teresa’s Sari becomes a Registered Trade Mark
pixabay.com
Mother Teresa died on 5th September 1997, in Calcutta, India. In her will she outlined that her likeness should not be used after her death for trade purposes, according to Biswajit Sarkar, an India-based lawyer who undertakes pro-bono work for the Missionaries of Charity, a religious Order founded by Mother Teresa.
Mother Teresa was known for wearing her characteristic white sari with three blue stripes on the borders, one thicker than the rest; this blue-and-white striped sari is woven specifically for the Missionaries of Charity by leprosy patients living in a home run by the Order. Nearly 4000 saris are woven every year. These garments are then distributed to nuns all over the world who work for the Missionaries of Charity and they are worn as a religious uniform. When Mr Sarkar heard about unauthorised sales of blue-and-white striped saris resembling that worn by Mother Teresa, and about instances of people trying to use Mother Teresa’s name for commercial gain, he applied to register a colour trade mark for the blue-and-white sari in India. (more…)
Gowling WLG – Patent Seminar 2018
IPcopy was present for the annual patent seminar at Gowling WLG last week.
Carrying on the format from previous years, Alex Brodie opened up the proceedings with a look at UK court statistics. Gowling WLG’s case counting exercise attempts to catch as many cases as possible but Alex Brodie noted that not all cases are published or commented on and so there may potentially be some that are not included.
Having acknowledged the counting process behind the statistics it was noted that the total number of patent decisions in 2017 shows a slight fall from previous years – 62 total cases versus 79 (2016) and 75 (2015). This fall may be an example of a Brexit effect but it was highlighted that there have also been some significant cases this year and there are only so many judges to go around. (more…)
Top 5 tips for protecting trade secrets
With the new EU Trade Secrets Directive coming into force in June 2018, Dr Chris Hayes of Lewis Silkin details his top 5 tips for protecting trade secrets. (more…)
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