Understanding Trademark Law Through the Lens of Halloween: A Spooky Guide

Halloween, with its pumpkins, costumes, and haunted houses, is one of the most exciting and creative times of the year. But behind the spooky masks and candy bowls lies a complex world of Intellectual Property Law, especially trademarks, which many businesses need to navigate carefully during the season.

If you are the owner of a registered patent, trademark or design (IP rights), you have surely received communication in the past that looked like it was an invoice coming from an official source, that mentioned the correct registration number of your IP right and that made you assume that you needed to pay this invoice to uphold your IP right. NEVER pay such “invoice” unless you have made sure that it is genuine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Source: Shutterstock Photo ID 2162707613)

Upon examining trademark applications, national trademark offices in the EU may refuse to register a sign that is contrary to “public policy” or “accepted principles of morality”. This somewhat lesser-known absolute ground of refusal of registration is provided for by Article 4(1)(f) of the Trade Mark Directive (EU) 2015/2436 (TMD). In an effort to further harmonise the practices of the Member States’ Intellectual Property Offices, the EU Intellectual Property Network has issued a dedicated “Common Practice” to provide more clarity on this ground of refusal to the national Intellectual Property Offices.

State-of-the-art IP management in the year 2024 requires in-depth expertise and an outstanding cloud- and AI-based software. As an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and patent attorneys as well as computer scientists, engineers and physicists, the IP firm LexDellmeier - www.lexdellmeier.com - and the  German-based software company IP Servant GmbH - https://www.ip-servant.com - helps your IP department in the company or your IP law firm with the strategic planning and implementation with respect to the digitalization of your files, the introduction or improvement of processes & workflows the implementation of the cloud- and AI-based IP software “IP Servant”.

 

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Are you the owner of a registered design in the European Union and have your design protected products been copied by way of 3D printing with you not being able to proceed against the person selling the 3D printing software? Or have your design protected goods been shown in the metaverse with you not being able to take action against such use for lack of “physical embodiment”? Then we have good news for you. A new EU-Design Directive as well as a new EU-Design Regulation will soon come into force and will extend design protection beyond physical objects. For more information, you are welcome to attend our webinar on 9 October 2024 at 4.00 pm (CEST). Get an overview of the webinar’s agenda by reading our newest blog article.

The Olympic Games 2024 are underway! However, although the merriment surrounding the event invites to light-heartedness, one should be careful not to be carried away when it comes to the use of the so-called “Olympic Properties”. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its affiliated entities tend to defend their IP rights fiercely against infringers, which is why businesses should be aware of the following.

In the cutthroat world of advertising, the temptation to proclaim superiority over competitors is ever-present. Whether it is claiming to be “Europe’s Number One” or touting oneself as simply “the best,” such declarations can be powerful tools for brand promotion. However, beneath the surface lies a legal minefield that companies must tread carefully to avoid running afoul of competition law.

 

On May 1, 2009 LexDellmeier was founded! Incredible that 15 years have gone by. Therefore, it is time to briefly comment and appreciate these past years and our #amazingjourney.

Over the past 17 days, we posted a picture a day mentioning that #LexDellmeier supports #World IP Day. Well, today is the day! Implemented 24 years ago to promote and increase general understanding of #intellectual property (IP), World IP Day is dedicated to a different IP related theme each year and this year, it focuses on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals –  of which there are a total of 17, introduced to you over the past days.

In our series of blog articles, genuine use of a trademark has already been an issue. But since the topic is very important and can even lead to loss of trademark rights, awareness raising cannot be rated high enough. We therefore chose the “LUTAMAX” decision of the General Court of the European Union (Joined Cases T-221/22 and T-242/22) to bring the topic to your attention once again.

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The protection system of geographical indications (GIs) in the European Union is set to undergo changes as two new specific EU regulations were recently adopted. The framework in place since 1992 to protect wines, spirit drinks and agricultural products will be modernised, while geographical indications for craft and industrial products will be eligible for protection at EU level for the first time in history.