Trademark and IP-related news for the legal professionals

Trademark laws and registration processes vary from country to country. Each country has its own laws and procedures for registering and protecting trademarks, and these laws may differ significantly from those in other countries. The United States and European Union are among the most popular jurisdictions for trademark registration in the world due to their strong legal frameworks, well-established trademark systems, and high levels of protection. However, they are also significant differences between the process of trademark registration in these jurisdictions.

The Chinese Intellectual Property Office has recently published a draft amendment to the Chinese Trademark Law. The draft aims to address the issues of malicious trademark filings and trademark squatting practices. If adopted in its current version and without further modifications, this amendment would considerably impact many aspects of trademark law and practice in China.

The requirement of trademark use is a common feature of the trademark registration process in the United States. At the same time, trademark rights holders can find the requirements of trademark use a rather confusing issue to navigate. In this article, we hope to provide clarity on this topic and help trademark owners protect and maintain their rights in the US.

There is a growing use of new branding strategies that utilize non-traditional marks, in particular, those directed to various non-visual senses (sound, scent, taste or touch) of human beings. Non-traditional trademarks have featured prominently in the news in recent years due to the coverage given to some of the internationally well-known companies, such as Coca-cola, Toblerone, and Tiffany and Co., which have experienced great successes and failures in relation to the registration of such trademarks. Should other businesses follow this trend?

Business owners wishing to enforce their intellectual property (IP) rights can do so through a trademark cease and desist letter. The ability to enforce a trademark is one of the main benefits of having a registered trademark that indicates the origin of goods and services. With a registered trademark, the owner may take action against any other party who makes unauthorised use of their IP. This article will discuss the role of the cease and desist letter in IP rights protection and tips on how to respond if you receive one.

Increased awareness by consumers and their need to be informed not only of the origin of the goods, but also of other characteristics of the goods and/or services has led companies to search for more ways to showcase their commitment to ecological products, recycling, and sustainability. This pressure, however, has also led to an increase in deceptive and misleading product advertisements. The European Commission has found that 53% of sustainability claims made in 2020 were “vague, misleading or provided unfounded information about products’ environmental characteristics.” [1] Brands are expected to experience more regulatory pushback against greenwashing practices in upcoming years.

A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one company from the goods or services of other companies. The ownership of a trademark excludes others from using similar or confusing marks and by virtue of it. Some of the questions that often arise in trademark law include the nature of trademark ownership and liability for the defective products.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, numerous western companies have left the Russian market, creating a shortage of previously available goods and services. The continuing shortage of international products in the country has given rise to a counterfeit market filled with copycat versions of western brands developed by Russian companies to take advantage of the situation.

As indicated in the World Intellectual Property Indicators Report[1], there are well over 213.65 million companies and 64.4 million trademarks registered across the world, which makes it harder to make brand names 100% unique and distinctive. Moreover, there is an inherent risk in filing a trademark application, and the complexity of the process differs from one trademark office to another. In this article, we will introduce some of the most common reasons trademark applications can get rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

There are numerous reasons why trademark registration is advisable and how this action can help entrepreneurs protect their brand. Whoever registers a trademark first has rights to use it in connection to goods or services. At the same time, the trademark owner's right to prevent the subsequent sale of products marked with its trademark is not unlimited and can be subject to trademark "exhaustion."