On May 26 2011 the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Masterpiece Inc v Alavida Lifestyles Inc (2011 SCC 27) and, in so doing, clarified important legal principles concerning the interrelationship in Canada between common law trademark rights and those rights which flow from registration. Prior to this decision, very little jurisprudence had dealt with the differences, overlaps and
interrelationships between rights flowing from registration and those existing at common law through use.
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The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has
announced that it is now accepting applications to register sound marks. With a consultation period on the country’s Trademark Regulations ending on April 23, there could soon be further changes to the treatment of non-traditional marks.
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When poking fun at a rival becomes infringement – lessons from the Specsavers/Asda dispute
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The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has announced that it will accept applications for the registration of trademarks consisting of sounds, with immediate effect. With a consultation period on the country’s trademark regulations currently open, future changes to the treatment of non-traditional marks could soon follow.
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The Council of the European Union has adopted the proposal to entrust OHIM with the EU Observatory on Infringements of IP Rights. While the move will expand OHIM’s role, the council has stressed that the new tasks will not extend to participation in individual operations or investigations carried out by national authorities.
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Trademark applications and registrations from the Romanian and Lithuanian Patent and Trademark Offices have been added to TMview, OHIM’s database providing free access to data on almost 7 million trademarks. There are now 17 offices contributing trademark data to TMview.
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Many foreign trademark owners come a cropper at the registration stage, although this is easily avoided. “When it comes to trademark registration, it is first to file – it is very simple,â€� explains Horace Lam, a Beijing-based partner at Jones Day.
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‘Means what it says’ versus ‘class headings cover all’
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In Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys v Registrar of Trademarks (Case C-307/10), Advocate General Both as stated that Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) Presidential Communication 4/03, which supports the ‘classheading-covers-all’ approach to registration, does not offer sufficient clarity.
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India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board has issued procedural guidelines that aim to streamline the appeal process and reduce the backlog of cases. Among other things, the guidelines provide that pleadings must be brief, not argumentative and not repetitive. Pleadings must be verified by the party itself, not by counsel.
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