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.

For the 17th time the German Innovation Prize (in German: "Deutscher Zukunftspreis - Preis des Bundespräsidenten für Technik und Innovation") has been launched. The winners of this renown prize will be handed over by the German Federal President and will receive 250.000 EUR.

DEADLINE TO PARTICIPATE: 2 December 2013

The world's fifth largest national patent and trade mark office (GPTO / DPMA) has now published its annual report 2012 English, which includes information and statistics all around patents, trademarks, utility models, designs etc. GPTO_Annual_Report_2012_Front_Page_Seite_1                    GPTO_Annual_Report_2012_Chart_Overview_Seite_2
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Being active as IP attorneys and dealing with various large and small companies and helping them protect their intellectual property, we often see the internal struggles. The following cartoon by Tom Fishburne pinpoints and clearly visualizes the problems on how and why innovative ideas are abandoned.   110124_voodoo-400x293   We thank Tom Fishburne and his "marketoonists" for allowing the use on this blog.
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By chance we came across this piece of artwork called "The Corporate States of America". It is a graphic design developed by the writer, graphic artist and photographer Steve Lovelace. As trademark and design enthusiasts, we thought we must share this with you. Corporate_States_of_America_by_Steve_Lovelace (c) 2012 Steve Lovelace

Interbrand just recently published its 3rd Annual Green Brands Report. Revealed below are the top ranked 50 "green" brands. Interbrand's reports - including sector overviews, articles and interviews etc. - can be viewed on the Interbrand website - Best Global Green Brands 2013.

 

best-global-green-brands-2013

 

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S.M.D. Markeur just recently published the top 20 applicants of Community Trademarks 2012: SMD_ctm_facts_2012_top_applicants   For more information please be referred to the source: Country Index of S.M.D. Markeur
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Bayern München - meanwhile the no. 1 football brand in the world. Needless to say, as a Munich based IP an trademark law firm and enthusiastic football fans, it is an absolute "must" that we report that our city's team has climbed to the top of the most valuable football brands in the world. Bayern Munich just recently won the Champions League Final in London on May 25, 2013 - Europe's premier football tournament. For more information please see BrandFinance's just published report of May 2013 - which includes an executive summary, charts, brand value and much more.
This upcoming Munich Patent Law Conference on 14 June 2013 held in English will focus on:

"Calculating patent damages in six (6) countries, namely

Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Japan, and USA".

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On 22 May 2013 the five largest IP Offices around the world known as "IP5" just published their data on the 2012 patent applications. Members of IP5 are:

1. the European Patent Office (EPO),

2. the Japan Patent Office (JPO),

3. the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)

4. the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO),

5. the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Almost 1.98 million patent applications were filed at the world's five largest patent offices in 2012 according to the preliminary statistics. Compared to 2011 that is an increase of 10.5%.

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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 2013", which does not just give an in-depth sight, but, also and overview of different countries, including the USA: