Tag:consumer & retail

1
FTC Imposes Multi-Million Dollar Penalties for Deceptive Consumer Reviews; Best Practices Reminders on Endorsements and Testimonials
2
Does Brexit Always Mean Brexit?
3
Diving Deeper Into the Amendments to the Australian Designs Act: Tips, Tricks and Risks (Part 1)
4
Does Reputation Ensure Distinctive Character of a Trade Mark? Not Necessarily
5
Ferrari Obtains New Guidance From the CJEU on Protection of Parts Under the Unregistered Community Design Regime
6
The Dangers of Informal Licensing Agreements – An Update on the Hardingham v RP Data Case
7
Cosmetic Blunder – All UK Instagram Content Must Make Clear On the Face of it that It’s an Ad, Including Reels and Stories
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
Planet Plumbing Trade Marks Head Down the Drain
10
Could You Be Using Your Trade Marks to Stop Unauthorised Resellers in the EU?

FTC Imposes Multi-Million Dollar Penalties for Deceptive Consumer Reviews; Best Practices Reminders on Endorsements and Testimonials

In a widely distributed Notice of Penalty Offense sent to over 700 companies last year, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) warned businesses about use of fake endorsements and consumer reviews. Forewarned should be forearmed.” This is a continuing reminder to companies to have systems in place to ensure endorsements and reviews comply with FTC guidelines. Companies that are found to be in violation after receiving a “we’re watching you” letter can face civil penalties of up to $46,517 per violation.

Recipients of the FTC’s letter included major consumer products companies, retailers, and advertising agencies. Recipients were not accused of any wrongdoing but were put “on notice” of their responsibilities under the FTC Act and the Commission’s increased focus on specific advertising practices, particularly endorsements.

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Does Brexit Always Mean Brexit?

The General Court recently decided the case Nowhere v EUIPO (Case T-281/21) and overturned the EUIPO decision (and general position) on the validity of UK earlier rights in the context of EU oppositions post-Brexit.

The EUIPO Communication No 2/20 made clear that the EUIPO will treat all UK rights to cease to be ‘earlier rights’ for the purposes of inter partes proceedings. However, the General Court held that the EUIPO Second Board of Appeal made an error in rejecting an opposition solely due to the UK earlier rights losing validity in the EU post-Brexit and that the relevant date to assess the validity of UK earlier rights should be the filing date of the opposed application.

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Diving Deeper Into the Amendments to the Australian Designs Act: Tips, Tricks and Risks (Part 1)

Protecting the visual appearance of a product, or its packaging, should be a key consideration in any comprehensive IP protection strategy. We have previously written about amendments to the Australian Designs Act 2003 (Cth) (here and here). All changes to the Designs Act have now come into force as of 10 March 2022. In this first of a series of articles, we delve deeper into amendments that introduce the long awaited grace period.

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Does Reputation Ensure Distinctive Character of a Trade Mark? Not Necessarily

The General Court of the European Union (EGC) handed down its decision on the invalidity proceeding brought against the well-known Moon Boot 3-D trade mark registration. The GC took a close look into the distinctiveness of 3D signs, providing new guidance on the subject.

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Ferrari Obtains New Guidance From the CJEU on Protection of Parts Under the Unregistered Community Design Regime

The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has handed down its decision in the case Ferrari v. Mansory Design on the scope of protection of Unregistered Community Designs (case C 123/20). This case is particularly relevant as it shines a new light on the scope of protection of part of a product under the Unregistered Community Designs (UCD) regime.

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The Dangers of Informal Licensing Agreements – An Update on the Hardingham v RP Data Case

In February 2020, we wrote about the Federal Court’s decision in Hardingham v RP Data Pty Ltd, in which Justice Thawley held that RP Data (the operator of a real estate commercial information database) did not infringe copyright owned by Real Estate Marketing (REMA) and its sole director, Mr Hardingham, in images and floorplans created for real estate listings. Justice Thawley found that REMA/Mr Hardingham had effectively authorised the use of their copyright materials by RP Data, via a chain of implied licences and sub-licences from REMA/Mr Hardingham to real estate agencies, to the operator of realestate.com.au and ultimately to RP Data. This was despite the fact that there was no clear or written agreement between REMA/Mr Hardingham and the real estate agencies to whom the copyright images and floorplans were supplied.

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Cosmetic Blunder – All UK Instagram Content Must Make Clear On the Face of it that It’s an Ad, Including Reels and Stories

The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has found that an influencer’s Instagram reel and story breached the advertising regulations. All advertising made by influencers must make it clear that it is an advert, otherwise brands, even if they have no control, will be held jointly responsible.

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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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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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Could You Be Using Your Trade Marks to Stop Unauthorised Resellers in the EU?

In this internet age, where a brand can be damaged by a single, negative review going viral, never has it been more important for a brand owner to protect its image and reputation. The pandemic forced all shopping online for some periods and has dramatically changed consumer buying habits, increasing the risks of unauthorised and poor quality online selling for high-quality brands without appropriate measures in place.

How can you stop a third party selling your genuine goods in a manner that damages your brand? Be it poor customer service, bait and switch practices, long delivery times, substandard internet sites or poor returns policies, issues such as these, the prevalence of which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, can create negative consumer associations with a brand. The answer – through an effective selective distribution strategy.

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