On 2021 March 30, sake from the Hagi district of Yamaguchi Prefecture was designated as a “Geographical Indication (GI),” a national system that protects special products tied to the local climate.
Trademarks, certification marks, collective marks, and service marks in Thailand are protected by the Trademark Act (No.3) B.E.2559 (2017).Trademarks are registered with the Department of Intellectual Property and non-residents can only register by appointing a Thai resident by granting them the power of attorney.Thailand’s new fast-track system for trademark renewals will ensure that the examination of applications and granting of the certificate of renewal only takes 45 minutes.
Last week, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) rejected arguments by a South Carolina law firm in support of its application for trademark registration of its domain name. The ruling comes not long after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in USPTO v. Booking.com B.V., in which it held that certain terms that would otherwise not qualify for trademark protection can be registered if “.com” is added to the term. However, according to the TTAB, the term at issue now, “onlinetrademarkattorneys.com,” did not meet the requirements for trademark registration despite the addition of “.com.”