On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 29th, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing to consider the nomination of four political appointees from the Trump Administration. Included among the days’ nominees was Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s selection to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Though the nomination hearing was brief and Iancu’s remarks were very measured, there would be reason for patent owners to think that a more balanced playing field at the USPTO could start to form should Iancu be confirmed as Director of the agency.
The Bundespatentgericht, Germany’s Federal Patent Court, has annulled a 3D trademark owned by Swiss food company Nestlé. On Friday, December 8, the Bundespatentgericht announced that it had annulled a shape mark for the Nespresso coffee capsule covering coffee in mid-November. The Nespresso machine uses the coffee capsules. The Patent Court found that the essential characteristics of the trademark conformed with the drawings of the external features of German patent DE 27,52,733, covering a cartridge fo
Courts & Crime News -The companies behind glitzy brand names such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry and Hermes have failed in their lawsuits against a Singapore freight forwarder involved in shipping fake goods from China via Singapore to Batam.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
愛知 地域ブランド・商標登録 全国ご当地名産品 vol.23
Toyohashi City’s local gourmet “Toyohashi Curry Udon” has been registered as a regional collective trademark by the Patent Office. With the approval, we plan to further develop it as a “regional brand” with the name of the region added to the general product name.
Notice on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU – EUTMs and RCDs The European Commission has prepared a Notice, countersigned by EUIPO, to holders of and applicants for European Union trade marks and Registered Community Designs in the context of the notification of the intention of the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union, submitted on 29 March 2017. This Notice corresponds to a potential scenario in which no agreement is reached by the negotiating parties.
NOTICE TO HOLDERS OF AND APPLICANTS FOR EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARKS PURSUANT TO REGULATION (EU) 2017/1001 ON THE EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARK AND TO HOLDERS OF AND APPLICANTS FOR COMMUNITY DESIGNS PURSUANT TO REGULATION (EC) NO 6/2002 ON COMMUNITY DESIGNS
The United Kingdom submitted on 29 March 2017 the notification of its intention to withdraw from the Union pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This means that, unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date or the period is extended by the European Council in accordance with Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, all Union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the UK from 30 March 2019, 00:00h (CET) (“the withdrawal date”). The United Kingdom will then become a “third country”.
Subject to any transitional arrangement that may be contained in a possible withdrawal agreement, as of the withdrawal date, EU rules on EU trade marks and Community designs will no longer apply to the United Kingdom. As a result, EU trade marks and registered Community designs registered in accordance with Union law (Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the European Union trade mark and Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on the Community designs) as well as unregistered Community designs made available to the public in the manner provided for in Union law (Regulation (EC) No 6/2002) before the withdrawal date will continue to be valid in the EU27 Member States but will no longer have effect in the United Kingdom as from the withdrawal date. Any application for an EU trade mark or for a registered Community design pending before the withdrawal date will no longer cover the United Kingdom as from that date. Any right granted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office on or after the withdrawal date will only cover the EU27 Member States. All existing seniority claims in EU trade marks based on national trade mark rights in the United Kingdom will cease to have an effect in the EU as from the withdrawal date.
In addition, the holders of international registrations of trade marks and designs having designated the European Union before the withdrawal date pursuant to the Madrid system for the international registration of marks, and the Hague system for the international deposit of industrial designs, should consider that, as from that date, those international registrations will continue to be valid in the EU27 Member States only and thus will no longer have effect in the United Kingdom. In this regard, holders of a European Union (EU) trade mark pursuant to Union law or of a registered Community design or of an unregistered Community Design pursuant to Union law, all applicants for an EU trade mark or for a registered Community design or any business operator who can potentially rely on such Regulations (hereinafter referred to as ‘right-holders and applicants’) are reminded that preparing for the withdrawal is not just a matter for European Union and national authorities, but also for private parties. In view of the considerable uncertainties, in particular concerning the content of a possible withdrawal agreement, all right-holders and applicants are reminded of certain legal repercussions stemming from currently applicable rules of Union law when the United Kingdom becomes a third country, and which need to be considered and anticipated.
In particular, the following should be considered by right-holders and applicants:
Natural or legal persons that are domiciled or have a seat in the United Kingdom only will have to be represented before the European Union Intellectual Property Office in accordance with Article 120(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (on the
European Union trade mark) and Article 78(1) of the Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 (on Community designs) in all proceedings provided for in those two Regulations, other than the filing of an application for an EU trade mark or an application for a registered Community design.
Apple Inc. succeeded on Tuesday in preventing Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc from registering its “Mi Pad” tablet computer as an EU trademark because the name was too similar to Apple’s “iPad.”