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.

The European Patent Office (EPO) carries out a survey every year. The study helps estimate the number of patent filings in the next three years. This information of the probable filing developments helps the EPO to forecast the budget and manpower. It also helps to foresee economic trends.

Introduction

For the survey, applicants from the 400 largest EPO clients and a group of approx. 2 800 from the general population were contacted and with a random sampling method, that preferentially selected larger applicants was applied.

New Survey 2014

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is organizing a workshop for Mediators about Intellectual Property Disputes. The workshop will take place on May 22/23,  2014 in Geneva in Switzerland. Introduction into Mediation
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Interbrand, started in 1974 with its approximately 40 offices around the globe, is one of the biggest and oldest brand consultancy companies around the world. Every year, Interbrand conducts and publishes various studies relating to brands, their value and the impact on companies and consumers. The most recent study published relates to the “Best Retail Brands 2014″, which does not just give an in-depth insight, but, also an overview of different countries, including the USA. The most valuable retail brand 2014 is the North American mark WALMART with a brand value of 131,9 billion US-Dollars. Number one in Asia is Woolworth and the most valuable brand in Latin America is the Brazilian cosmetic brand Natura.
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History The World Intellectual Property Office’s (WIPO’s) member states designated April 26 – the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970 – as World Intellectual Property Day with the aim of increasing the general understanding of Intellectual Property, including trademarks, designs, patents, utility models etc. Each year, a special topic and focus is picked. This year’s World Intellectual Property Day 2014 focuses on “Movies – a Global Passion”. This theme is focused on because watching movies has affected people for over 100 years now and also gives work to the thousands of people who are employed in the film industry. And movies are protected by the copyright law. IP Day Events 2014
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On 11 April 2014 the Higher Regional Court of Cologne overturned the first instance decision in the trademark battle between the two well-known candy manufactures Haribo (gummi bears) and Lindt (chocolate). The Regional Court Cologne came to the decision that there is likelihood of confusion between the “Lindt Chocolate Teddy” and the “Haribo Goldbär”(LG Köln on 18.12.2012; Decision 33 O 803/11). The Higher Regional Court instead decided totally different and has to come to the conclusion that the Haribo Goldbär is not infringed by the sale of the Lindt Chocolate Teddy (see: press release in German OLG Köln on 11.04.2014; Decision 6 U 230/12).
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Modifications_German_Patent_Law_2014_April_1The German government last year decided to modify parts of its national patent law. Therefore, as of April 1, 2014, the following most important modifications in German Patent Law have entered into force: - The time period to submit translations of English or French patent applications filed has been extended to 12 months after the filing date or 15 months after the priority date. If the filer does not submit the translation in time, the application is deemed to be withdrawn.
Just recently, WIPO published statistics on trademark, design and patent filings in 2013. The growth of the filings per country is ranked, as well as the top technologies and largest files. Additionally, the annual statistics reflect industry Trends and also indicate future developments. For a company it is of upmost importance to protect their intellectual property by filing patents, trademarks and designs. There are a lot of reasons why it is so important for every company to apply for and seek registration of their intellectual property rights. The most important one is that if the patents, trademarks or designs of a company are not protected properly, anybody can use their intellectual property and participate in their success. WIPO Statistics The 2013 WIPO statistics reveal. 5,1 % more patent applications, 6,4% more international trademark applications and 14,8 % more design applications than in 2012. This increase sets a new record this year.
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INTA_Logo On Thursday, 13 March 2014, the 2nd INTA IP Paralegal Roundtable was hosted at the Munich Bar Association. The four-hour event - thanks to the organizing committee, speakers and sponsors - with approx. 70 attendees - was an overwhelming success. 2014 03 13_INTA_MUC_RT_Participant_View
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The EGC (European General Court) decided that a yellow curved line cannot be registered as a position mark as it as it lacks distinctiveness (Decision T-331/12 dated 26 February 2014). Introduction In order to decide if a mark lacks the necessary distinctiveness or not, various aspects need to be taken into account. First of all, the court has to analyze the specific goods and services of the applied for trademark, and furthermore it has to determine if intended brand is capable to enable the average consumers to identify the product’s origin. Background of the Case and Subject Matter