http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/argos-goes-to-court-of-appeal-but.html Aargh, gosh we lost the appeal! Can a US corporation selling construction software only in the Americas under the name ARGOS be sued for infringement of a registered trade mark by a UK based consumer goods retailer who trades mainly in the UK and Ireland under the same name?... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/swatch-versus-apple-if-you-tick.html What happens when an application by SWATCH for the mark is opposed by Apple on the basis of its mark? In Singapore, the opposition was rejected. Kat friends Lau Kok Keng, Nicholas Lauw and Jiamin Leow collectively report on this recent decision. Swatch filed two applications to register the... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/why-pay-more-what-opaque-hotel.html Since the 1970’s, the neo-liberal economic approach has viewed trademarks primarily through the lens of information. Underlying the value (read— “strength”) of a mark is the notion of search costs. A consumer, in deciding whether to buy a product, will typically seek relevant information about the product. However, because... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/book-review-kritika-essays-on.html Are you under the romantic spell of copyright law, so much so that its mutation into an aggressive economic tool protective of investments rather than creative labour has escaped your attention? Or, much like Fiona Macmillan in Kritika, have you been staring at the “ugly underbelly” of this mutant-copyright... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/brexit-and-brands-part-4.html Photo c/o @AARCS_Canada As the Brexit [excitement/disaster/debacle – readers can pick their preferred option] starts to heat up, the IPKat has an update from Darren Meale who has been closely following the countdown to “B-day”. Over to Darren: Following Rosie’s post here, the following is an update on my... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/gcc-diplomatic-crisis-update-qatars-new.html Further to a series of posts [here, here, here, here] devoted to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) crisis, Katfriend Riyadh Al-Balushi (PhD candidate at SOAS University of London) is back with an update on the latest developments. Here’s what Riyadh writes: The GCC diplomatic crisis has not been resolved until... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last.html The 201stedition of Never Too Late is here to bring you up to speed on the latest and greatest of the IPKat world! Today’s highlights include no-deal Brexit analysis, event reports, copyright in fireworks, logos and even football trophies! And for Kat’s sake – what is ‘Fiverrization’?! IPR Melting... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/does-feyonce-blur-beyonces.html Beyoncé’s Drunk in Love Would you think that products carrying the word FEYONCÉ are sponsored by or affiliated with famous singer Beyoncé, or blur the distinctiveness of her mark? This is the question at the centre of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, et al., v. Feyoncé, Inc. et al., 16-CV-2532 (AJN).The factsThe defendants started... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/ipkat-team-members-updates-news-and.html Every now and then, The IPKat runs updates on its (human) bloggers’ activities and what they have been up to over the past few months … besides blogging. As readers will see, our team has been quite busy and there is some exciting news. Sadly, we also have to say... Continue reading
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2018/10/around-ip-blogs.html Take a tour of the IP blogosphere with IPKat! Highlights this week include a series of articles on the impact of brexit on the patent system, a commentary on whether blockchain can reasonably be used to protect trade secrets and a case of invalid priority in the US. Trademarks The Journal... Continue reading