UPDATE: October 2024 – Intellectual Property (IP) Crime in Europe, joint report by EUIPO and EUROPOL

Beitragsdatum: 
18. November 2024
Categories: 
EUIPO, Product Piracy, IP Rights, Intellectual Property Law, Counterfeiting, Intellectual Property
Tags: 
#EUIPO, #EUROPOL, #IP Crime, #Counterfeiting

Christmas is only a few weeks away! Now is the time for including gifts for your loved ones to your shopping lists. But as you browse through busy stores or infinite lists of products online looking for bargains, do not let the sweet vapours of mulled wine dull your senses. As the EUIPO and EUROPOL recently highlighted in a joint report published on 23 October 2024 on the ecosystem of Intellectual Property (IP) crime, counterfeit goods keep finding their way to our shelves and represent a staggering 5.8% of EU trade. The report sheds light on how much IP crime remains a threat to European consumers, how it is enabled, and how its impact could be mitigated.

Weiterlesen über UPDATE: October 2024 – Intellectual Property (IP) Crime in Europe, joint report by EUIPO and EUROPOL

How to become the proprietor of a Design?

Beitragsdatum: 
16. Januar 2011
Categories: 
Design Law
Tags: 
Designs, FAQ, Law, Registration
There are two possibilities: -    Application and registration at the GPTO (DPMA)/ OHIM / WIPO (so called Registered Designs). After application and registration, the design provides protection for 5 years, at first. Afterwards, the protection can be maintained, up to a maximum term of 25 years, by paying the obligatory extension fees every 5 years. -  No registration, but commencement of use. The right automatically emerges with its publication (meaning: an exhibition, offering it for sale, a press release) EU-wide, with a term of protection of 3 years (so called Non-Registered Design). Read why you need us to help you with the registration of a design.

What is a Design?

Beitragsdatum: 
16. Januar 2011
Categories: 
Design Law
Tags: 
Designs, FAQ, Law
A design is a commercial property right, which assigns an exclusive right of use for an esthetic design - meaning the outer appearance of products - to its proprietor. As designs, you could protect: Two- or Three-dimensional appearances, with a certain design or color, form, shape, material, logos, icons, surface structure (e.g. the outward appearance of a mobile phone, an electrical device, a handbag, a lamp etc.). BUT: No computer programs, no appearing attributes that only depend on their technical function, or those having to be rebuilt to enable the construction of another product.

What do the symbols ™ and ® mean?

Beitragsdatum: 
15. Januar 2011
Categories: 
FAQ
Tags: 
FAQ, Law, Registration, Trademarks
™  is the abbreviation of „Trademark“; ®  is the abbreviation of „Registered“ In Germany those symbols do not constitute a trademark but a registration is required. The use of these symbols is though only permitted in relation to a registered trademark. Otherwise there is an infringement of Competition Law.

How do I get a Trademark?

Beitragsdatum: 
15. Januar 2011
Categories: 
FAQ
Tags: 
DPMA, FAQ, Law, OHIM, Registration, Trademarks, WIPO
A trademark is obtained in most countries via a registration (not mere use). The protection of a  trademark covers only the territory and the goods and services for which the trademark was registered. On a territorial level there are different  possibilities: -     Application and registration at the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) in Munich for German trademarks (http://www.dpma.de/).  German trademarks can claim protection in Germany only -     Application and Registration at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) in Alicante, Spain, for Community Trademarks (http://www.oami.eu/).  A Community Trademark or EU-Trademark covers all EU Member States (currently 27)

What is a Trademark?

Beitragsdatum: 
15. Januar 2011
Categories: 
FAQ
Tags: 
FAQ, Law, Trademarks
A trademark is a sign protected by law, serving to distinguish goods and services of one enterprise from those of another. Besides it implies the following functions of: -  origin -  communication -  guarantee There are different types of trademarks: -  Expressions, letters or numbers  (wordmark), -  A picture or logo (figurative mark), as well as the combination of words and pictures (word-design mark); -  A color or a combination of colors (color mark); -  Three-dimensional shapes (3-D-mark), -  Radio-jingles or a combination of a melody (sound mark); -  Slogans and even gestures (move mark)
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