IP Law Watch

Legal issues, law and regulations concerning the world of IP.

 

1
UAE to Join the Madrid Protocol
2
Full Federal Court Decision Reaffirms That There Is No Infringement By Authorisation Under Australian Trade Mark Law
3
Board of Directors of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority Issues IP Legislation Update
4
Guide: How to Enforce Intellectual Property Rights in China
5
AI Can Invent – Australia is First to Recognise Non-Human Inventorship
6
Registrability of Shape Marks and Technical Function of Complex Products: The Pirelli Case
7
Australia’s Greatest Liability: Parodic Fair Use or Copyright Infringement?
8
“All Aboard” As Guerlain Departs From the Norm: The General Court of the EU Finds Distinctive Character in Boat Hull Shaped Lipstick Packaging
9
Finally – German Constitutional Court Clears the Way for the Unified Patent Court
10
Planet Plumbing Trade Marks Head Down the Drain

UAE to Join the Madrid Protocol

In great news for companies that file trade marks internationally, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has agreed to join the Madrid Protocol from 28 December 2021.

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Full Federal Court Decision Reaffirms That There Is No Infringement By Authorisation Under Australian Trade Mark Law

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has reaffirmed that a registered trade mark can only be infringed by the primary user of a trade mark and there is no concept of authorisation of infringement recognised under Australian trade mark law.

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Board of Directors of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority Issues IP Legislation Update

The Board of Directors of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority recently issued the DIFC Intellectual Property Regulations (IP Regulations). The IP Regulations took effect on 5 July 2021 and were issued pursuant to the DIFC Intellectual Property Law, DIFC Law No. of 2019 (IP Law).

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Guide: How to Enforce Intellectual Property Rights in China

This step-by-step guide sets out the actions to be taken upon discovering an infringement of an intellectual property right (IPR) in the People’s Republic of China (China). The IPRs addressed in this guide include copyright, trademark, patent, and unfair competition (including counterfeiting).

View the full article here

AI Can Invent – Australia is First to Recognise Non-Human Inventorship

The Australian Federal Court recently handed down its first-instance judgement in Thaler v Commissioner of Patents [2021] FCA 879 where the central issue considered was whether an artificial intelligence (AI) system could be an ‘inventor’ for the purposes of the Australian Patents Act 1990 (Act) and its corresponding regulations. The Court found that an AI system can be an inventor – where ‘inventor’ may be construed broadly to include a ‘person or thing that invents’1. This decision puts Australia in the spotlight as a favourable country to patent AI-created inventions – for now. Given the subject-matter and controversy generated by this decision, an appeal to the Full Federal Court is almost certain.

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Registrability of Shape Marks and Technical Function of Complex Products: The Pirelli Case

The CJEU has rendered its decision on the invalidity actions brought by Yokohama against the below shape mark filed by Pirelli. The mark represents a single groove of a tyre tread, covering “tyres, solid, semi-pneumatic and pneumatic tyres, rims and covers for vehicle wheels of all kinds, vehicle wheels of all kinds, inner tubes, wheel rims, parts, accessories and spare parts for vehicle wheels of all kinds“ in class 12.

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Australia’s Greatest Liability: Parodic Fair Use or Copyright Infringement?

Many companies and activists toe the line of trade mark and copyright infringement in the name of parody, satire and criticism. In Australia, the fair dealing copyright exception for the purpose of parody or satire had rarely been judicially considered. There have now been two recent cases considering the defence.

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“All Aboard” As Guerlain Departs From the Norm: The General Court of the EU Finds Distinctive Character in Boat Hull Shaped Lipstick Packaging

In what will be welcomed by innovative design brands, on 14 July 2021, the General Court of the EU handed down a decision annulling the EUIPO and Board of Appeal’s decisions that a mark filed by Guerlain lacked distinctive character. This decision emphasises that a distinctiveness assessment of a three-dimensional mark must be undertaken by reference to the specifics of common practice in the market for the relevant products.

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Finally – German Constitutional Court Clears the Way for the Unified Patent Court

Today the German Federal Constitutional Court rejected two applications for an interim injunction against the German implementation of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA). The outcome of the decisions is a clear yes to a European patent court system!

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Planet Plumbing Trade Marks Head Down the Drain

The importance of ensuring trade mark registrations accurately reflect the marks in usage has been brought into sharp relief by the recent decision of a Delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks in Planet Plumbing SW Works Pty Ltd v Green Planet Maintenance Pty Ltd [2021] ATMO 32.

The Hearing Officer directed that registrations for two “Planet Plumbing” logos be removed from the Register after the owner, Planet Plumbing SW Works Pty Ltd (PP) failed to defend against a non-use application by Green Planet Plumbing Pty Ltd (GPP) under section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) (the Act).

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