Monthly Archive for December, 2008

UK Businesses not Protecting Intellectual Property Rights

December 18, 2008

According to a new government research in the UK, 40% of businesses take no action to ensure their intellectual property is protected, despite an understanding of the need to protect it.
The research revealed that:

  1. 40% of businesses investigated took no practical action, such as trade mark registration, to guarantee their and third parties Intellectual Property rights are protected.
  2. 33% of businesses studied were not informed about the legitimacy of the goods sold on their premises by external traders.
  3. A fifth of the businessman, who knew that employees were selling DVDs at work, was aware of the fact that these were counterfeit and did not ban such illegal activity.
  4. Likewise, over 25% of respondents took no action in respect of the fact that the staff downloads illegal content at work.

Regarding these results, the director of copyright and IP enforcement at the Intellectual Property Office, Ed Quilty, commented:
Intellectual property is central to the UK economy and therefore businesses of all sizes cannot afford to be complacent in respecting its value ensuring effective measures are in place to prevent workplace IP crime are an important part of this. I am pleased that the IP Crime Group will take a leading role in highlighting this problem as part of their work.

Four OHIM National Offices Opt out of National Searches

December 18, 2008

National searches which may be requested at the moment of filing a Community trademark have become optional since March 2008. These searches are carried out in all participating offices for a single fee.

Since these searches are optional the number of member states taking part in them is falling to 12 due to the decision of four national offices to stop participating.

Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and the UK have decided to withdraw from the system of national search requests with effect from 1 January 2009. The 12 national offices continuing to participate are: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Finland.

Japanese Patent Office Seeks to Extend Trademark Protection to Sound and Moving Images

December 11, 2008

Japanese Government sources have revealed Japans Patent Office intentions of accepting applications to register sound and moving images as trademarks.

This idea has developed since companies begun advertising products using music and moving images on the Internet and in television, in fact some countries already offer sound and moving images trademark registration.

Nowadays in Japan, it is only possible to register as trademarks “motionless” objects, namely letters representing a products name’, logos and diagrams.

On the contrary, some other countries, such us the United States, Britain, Germany and Australia, accept sounds, holograms and moving images that are considered to enhance the impact of products on consumers, as trademarks.

In the United States, 147 sound and 20 moving images were registered as trademarks between 1994 and 2006, according to the Institute of Intellectual Property, which is affiliated with the Patent Office.

According to the sources, companies from the States and Europe have been urging the Japanese Government to adopt the necessary measures in order to protect sound and moving images as trademarks.

In response, the Japanese Patent Office has been considering the possibility of covering a wider range of items under the Trademarks Law.

Finally, as those who use registered trademarks without approval have to face up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million yen. Hence, it can be said that the foreseen revision is expected to more extensively protect companies’ rights.

WIPO’s Committee Concentrates on non-Traditional Marks, Trademark Opposition Procedures and Industrial Designs

December 11, 2008

WIPOs Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) concluded in the beginning of December 2008, after coming to an agreement in the field of non traditional marks such as holograms and audio marks trademark opposition procedures, consideration of key issues relating to industrial designs, and new areas of work.

Since July of 2008, the Committee has been working on coming to an agreement or unification in respect of the representation and description of non traditional marks such as three dimensional marks, color marks, sound marks, movement marks, hologram marks or position marks.

The goal is to promote uniform results in the trademark registration process across different jurisdictions for the benefit of trademark owners and trademark offices.

On the other hand, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry urged the Committee to put special emphasis on the issue of designs which has not been a priority in the intellectual property policy making considerations.

He highlighted the importance of industrial designs as a means of distinguishing or differentiating products which offer essentially identical functional features. He pointed out that, for products which bring a new technology to the market, design is a key means of communicating how the technology will work.

The meeting, from December 1 to 5, 2008, was attended by 72 member states, 4 intergovernmental organizations and 8 non governmental organizations. The next meeting of the SCT is scheduled to take place in Geneva in June 2009.

Benelux Intellectual Property Office Warns Against non Official Registers

December 11, 2008

BOIP (Benelux Intellectual Property Office) has made a public announcement on its website. Warning trademarks owners about the being contacted by companies as TM Collection and IBIP International Bureau for Intellectual Property which offer to publish their trademark in a non official (European) register, published by these companies. All of this against a substantial amount of money.

The BOIP has advised the public that it is not correct to think that any trademark right is associated with these proposals. Emphasizing the fact that these initiatives are strictly private, without any official character and strongly recommending not following these sorts of proposals.

Singapore Treaty on The Law of Trademarks to Enter into Force in 2009

December 8, 2008

A new international treaty establishing standards for trademark registration procedures will become effective in 2009 after Australia ratification on December 16, 2008. This is the tenth ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (The Singapore Treaty) and will permit the treaty to enter into force on March 16. 2009.

According to WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry, the Singapore Treaty represents good news for trademark holders around the world as it will allow registering and managing trademark rights cost effectively and efficiently.

The Treaty standardizes procedural aspects of trademark registration and licensing and enables owners of trademarks and national trademark authorities to take advantage of efficiencies in using modern communications technologies to process and manage evolving trademark rights. This facilitates the creation of a common action ground for all economic operators that invest in branded goods.

The Singapore Treaty sets up administration rules for the trademark offices, which are applicable to all sorts of trademarks, considering the advantages and potential of electronic communication facilities, and at the same time recognizing the different requirements of both developing and developed nations.