The IPKat BLOG – Page 7

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General Court denies protection for OMV abstract colour combination trade mark – despite INTA’s and MARQUES’ intervention

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/07/general-court-denies-protection-for-omv.html The protection of abstract colour trade marks is notoriously difficult to attain in the EU. Even statements in interventions from heavyweights such as INTA and MARQUES in the OMV colour case (IPKat here) did not convince the General Court to reconsider the case law in a recent judgment concerning... Continue reading
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Wednesday Whimsies

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/07/wednesday-whimsies.html This Kat is pleased to bring readers the weekly summary of IP news, events and opportunities!Thank you, Anastasiia!Image by Uschi Leonhartsberger-Schrottvia PixabayWe begin this week with a huge thank you to Anastasiia Kyrylenko, who is departing the IPKat after more than five years of contributions. She joined as an InternKat... Continue reading
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Is unauthorised fashion upcycling lawful? Not according to French first instance court

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/07/is-unauthorised-fashion-upcycling.html On 10 April last, the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris ruled that S.A.S. MAISON R&C, S.A.S. ATELIER R&C, and Géraldine Lugassy Demri (defendants) had infringed the copyrights and the word mark ‘Hermès’ owned by SOCIÉTÉ HERMES INTERNATIONAL and S.A.S. HERMES SELLIER (claimants/Hermès) by reproducing the original graphic works – imprinted onto Hermès’... Continue reading
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South Africa’s new plant breeders’ rights system comes into force, with notable parallels to the EU system

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/south-africas-new-plant-breeders-rights.html Earlier this month, a new plant variety rights system came into force in South Africa. The legislation repeals the Plant Breeders’ Right Act 1976 and introduces many changes, which took effect from 1 June 2025. The framework intends to bring South Africa into compliance with UPOV 1991, but also echoes... Continue reading
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Northern District of California’s busy week on AI and fair use

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/northern-district-of-californias-busy.html It’s been a thrilling (in the loosest sense) week for copyright enthusiasts, as two rulings have been issued by judges in the Northern Direct of California in two separate cases brought by book authors (namely Bartz v Anthropic and Kadrey v Meta) on the question of fair use in... Continue reading
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Sunday Surprises

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/sunday-surprises_29.html A hot week is coming to an end and it would not be the same without the hottest news from the IP world. Events 2 July 2025: Coaching & mentoring to empower you at mid-life IP Inclusive’s experiential webinar will explore how coaching and mentoring can support you to... Continue reading
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How Manchego cheese became a geographical indication

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/how-manchego-cheese-became-geographical.html “Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember…”Over the past few years, this Kat has been researching the history of Manchego cheese, “Queso Manchego”, as a geographical indication (GI). This was done as part of a grant from the regional Parliament of... Continue reading
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AG Spielmann advises CJEU to rule that a derivative work may be original and protection could also stem from efforts to reconstruct missing parts in someone else’s work

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/ag-spielmann-advises-cjeu-to-rule-that.html The critical edition at issue in the Romanian background proceedingsInternational copyright law (Article 2(3) of the Berne Convention) mandates the protection of “[t]ranslations, adaptations, arrangements of music and other alterations of a literary or artistic work” as “original works without prejudice to the copyright in the original work.”In the... Continue reading
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Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last_26.html Your weekly dose of IP insights is here. Check out what the IPKat has been discussing.CopyrightEleonora Rosati reported on Advocate General Emiliou’s Opinion in Pelham II, C-590/23, where he proposes a definition of ‘pastiche’ as an artistic creation evoking an existing work by adopting its aesthetic language while being noticeably... Continue reading
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Are AI-discovered drug patents blocking innovation? A response to the Science article

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/06/are-ai-discovered-drug-patents-blocking.html A new study claims AI drug companies are recklessly patenting untested molecules, but the analysis reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how pharmaceutical patents actually work. The study entitled “What patents on AI-derived drugs reveal” (Freilich & Rai) was recently published in the journal Science. The authors analysed granted drug compound patents... Continue reading