Articles

Blockchain Applications Could Help the Fashion Industry Address its Most Significant Challenges Related to Intellectual Property

Submitted by editor on Sun, 24/02/2019 - 13:10

When most people hear the word blockchain, they tend to think of Bitcoin, the decentralized virtual currency that has risen in value exponentially over the past few years. While blockchain technology is best known for supporting virtual payments and other financial applications, other uses are rapidly being developed across every sector of the economy, and fashion figures are beginning to discover that the possibilities presented by blockchain could serve to addressing some of the industry’s most pressing issues – from supply chain mismanagement to counterfeiting.

U.S. Chamber Releases 2019 International IP Index

Submitted by editor on Sun, 24/02/2019 - 12:33

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) has released its International IP Index, “Inspiring Tomorrow,” which assesses the intellectual property (IP) environments of 50 world economies. Covering all forms of IP, the report highlights movement in almost half the Index economies over the last year.

Netflix Sued for Copyright Infringement over ‘Wild Wild Country’ Documentary

Submitted by editor on Sun, 24/02/2019 - 12:22

Netflix has been slapped with a lawsuit related to its hit documentary, “Wild Wild Country” — which claims the producers stole “substantial portions” of copyrighted work from a company that represents Indian cult leader and series subject Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh aka “Osho.”

A filmmaker named Michael Hilow is also suing the streaming giant for copyright infringement, saying they used footage from his 1993 documentary “Rajneeshpuram: An Experiment to Provoke God” without his consent.

Facebook Found Liable for Hosting Links to Unlicensed Content

Submitted by editor on Sun, 24/02/2019 - 11:32

or the first time under Italian law a platform (Facebook) has been found liable for hosting third-party links to unlicensed content.

The decision was issued by the Rome Court of First Instance a few days ago: it is Tribunale di Roma, sentenza 3512/2019.

The judgment is both interesting and important, also considering the YouTube referral (C-682/18) currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) [Katpost here].

Let's see more in detail what happened and how the Rome court reasoned.

Background

GCC: Securing and Enforcing Patents in an Evolving Region

Submitted by editor on Sun, 24/02/2019 - 09:03

The Gulf Cooperation Council comprises the following six countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Historically, these countries and the region at large have been recognized as key suppliers of oil and gas. The economies of the GCC countries were primarily, and in earlier years, based on the export of these crucial and indispensable products.

IP and the Right to Repair

Submitted by editor on Tue, 19/02/2019 - 12:10

In recent years, there has been a growing push in different U.S. states towards legislation that would provide consumers with a “right to repair” their products. Currently 18 states have pending legislation that would require product manufacturers to make available replacement parts and repair manuals. This grassroots movement has been triggered by a combination of related factors.

How to Deal with Unusual Prior Art in the Determination of Inventive Step?

Submitted by editor on Tue, 19/02/2019 - 11:52

The EPO’s Problem-Solution-Approach is, on the face of it, simple and widely applied also in the national jurisprudence of the EPC member states. It starts with the determination of a “closest prior art document” (CPAD) which is to serve as the starting point of the further analysis. It is then evaluated which technical differences exist between this closest prior art document and the claimed invention, and which problem the claimed invention objectively solves over this CPAD.

Fundamental Rights as a Defense to Circumvent Enforcement of Copyright Protection? No, Says CJEU.

Submitted by editor on Tue, 19/02/2019 - 11:33

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled in Bastei Lübbe GmbH & Co. KG v. Michael Strotzer (C-149/17) that “the owner of an internet connection used for copyright infringements” cannot invoke his fundamental right to private life to circumvent the possible enforcement of remedies against such infringements. This judgment is the latest step in the CJEU’s copyright case law on balancing fundamental rights in the Charter.

When does Adding a Generic TLD to a Generic Word Make the Sign Non-Generic?

Submitted by editor on Tue, 19/02/2019 - 10:38

Is survey evidence regarding secondary meaning relevant when the trade mark is composed of only two generic elements? Is an 1888 precedent of the US Supreme Court useful when deciding whether a domain name can be registered as a trade mark? And, most importantly, is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? This Kat did not expect to find answers to all of these questions (and more) in a recent decision given by the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in the case on the registration of the trade mark “BOOKING.COM”.
The case

Cyprus transposition of the EU Trade Mark Directive

Submitted by editor on Tue, 19/02/2019 - 09:59

When it comes to Directive 2015/2436 (the new Trade Mark Directive, which had a transposition deadline of 15 January 2019), this blog has recently reported on the Finnish and Greek implementation thereof [here and here]. With Finland and Greece in mind, one might wonder what the status is in other EU Member States? Attention can be turned to Cyprus, and in this regard, one might ask the question of what has been the Cypriot take on implementation?

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