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EVALUATING THE USPTO’s EFFORTS TO CLEAN UP THE U.S. TRADEMARK REGISTER
An ongoing issue for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been the number of trademark registrations where registrants do not actually use or intend to use their marks on all of the goods and services covered by their...
Read ArticleCHURCH’S APPEAL TO A HIGHER AUTHORITY PREVAILS OVER ADIDAS
In Adidas AG v Christian Faith Fellowship Church (Cancellation No. 92053314), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) had cancelled two federal trademark registrations for ADD A ZERO, owned by the Christian Faith Fellowship Church, on the...
Read Article“POISONOUS DIVISIONALS” POISONED IN THE EPO
For the past few years there has been fear that the law on priority claims in the European Patent Office (EPO) could result in a divisional application becoming prior art against its parent if the divisional application described subject matter that...
Read ArticleCOPYRIGHT PROTECTION FOR MASS-PRODUCED ARTICLES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Prior to a recent change in the law, copyright protection in an artistic work expired after 25 years if articles embodying the work had been applied industrially (defined as making more than fifty articles). This kept the period of protection for...
Read ArticleCASE 168/09 FLOS SPA v SEMERARO CASA E FAMIGLIA SPA
The District Court of Milan referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary opinion on the interrelation of the EU’s Council Directive 93/98 on the duration of copyright protection and Directive 98/71 relating to...
Read ArticleEuropean “INTERMEDIARIES” MAY BE FORCED TO TAKE ACTIVE MEASURES AGAINST TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT COMMITTED BY THIRD PARTIES
Recent cases in the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales have addressed the question of whether those who provide facilities to persons who infringe the trademark rights of others may themselves be...
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