In National Business Forms and Printing Inc v Ford Motor Co, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has held that a commercial printer company that offered reproduction of trademark-protected corporate logos for use in custom design and printing services did not use the marks in commerce, as required for a finding of trademark infringement under federal law.

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Next month WIPO member states and interested parties will discuss a new draft instrument for the protection of geographical indications (GIs) and appellations of origin. The proposals follow Antonio Campinos’ recent statement that OHIM would welcome the opportunity to oversee a non-agricultural register of GIs. However, the Europe v United States divide on GIs seems as wide as ever.

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A legal wrangle between the makers of the Magic Tree air freshener and photo bank Getty Images, which centres on the use of a trademark in photography offered by the image bank, could increase the policing burden for trademark owners.

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In Nike Inc v Maher, in a precedential opinion, the TTAB has sustained Nike Inc’s opposition to the registration of JUST JESU IT, finding that the mark was likely to cause confusion with and dilute Nike’s famous JUST DO IT mark. Among other things, the TTAB found that JUST JESU IT and JUST DO IT were sufficiently similar to “trigger consumers to conjure up� Nike’s mark when faced with the mark applied for.

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China’s vice minister of commerce recently announced that, since October 2010, his government has shut down nearly 13,000 factories producing counterfeit goods and arrested over 9,000 people through more than 150,000 investigations. And yet an entire fake Apple store recently opened up in Kunming, featuring a “beautifully� ripped-off store design, according to one visitor. It is not yet clear what the authorities (let alone Apple) make of this, but the revelation follows reports that police authorities have been replacing the Mercedes-Benz badge on their cars in order to disguise the brand.

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In Anderson v Upper Keys Business Group Inc, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals has held that the term ‘Conch Republic’ was not generic in referring to a satirical name for the Florida Keys. However, the term may be protectable as a descriptive trademark only if secondary meaning is established.

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In Tata Sons Ltd v Jawed, the Delhi High Court has held that the defendants had infringed Tata Sons Ltd’s well-known trademark TATA. The court emphasised that use of a well-known mark, even in respect of goods or services which are dissimilar to those provided by the trademark owner, may cause damage to the reputation of the well-known mark by reducing its ability to indicate the source of goods or services.

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In Red Hat Inc v Start Commercial Ltd, the Tel Aviv District Court has rejected Red Hat Inc’s claim that the respondent’s logo, which includes a tilted fedora hat, infringed Red Hat’s ‘shadow man’ trademark or constituted passing off. Among other things, the court held that Red Hat’s fedora hat, by itself, was not well known in Israel.

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In Community of Christ Copyright Corp v Devon Park Restoration Branch of Jesus Christ’s Church, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a district court decision in a case involving trademark infringement and false designation of origin under the Lanham Act, and common law trademark infringement and dilution under Missouri law.

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In Google Inc v Jagganath Chemicals, the Delhi High Court has issued an interim injunction preventing Jagganath Chemicals from using the GOOGLE mark in relation to table salt. Having considered Google’s submissions, the court found that the balance of convenience lay in its favour. It will be interesting to see whether Jagganath applies to set aside the injunction on the basis of its alleged prior use of the mark.

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