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.     We thank Tom Fishburne and his "marketoonists" for allowing the use on this blog.

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. (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.

 

 

S.M.D. Markeur just recently published the top 20 applicants of Community Trademarks 2012:   For more information please be referred to the source: Country Index of S.M.D. Markeur

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".

This unique conference is hosted by the Technical University of Munich/Chair for IP Law, the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the Regional Court Munich I and is supported by the European Patent Office (EPO) as well as the Munich Bar Association and 30 judges from around the world are expected to attend.     The full program can be found here. To register please click here on the online registration including the possibility to attend the dinner after the conference. The regular registration fee is EUR 300 and registration closes on 3 June 2013.  

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%.

The full report will be available later in the year 2013. However, the preliminary IP5 Report has been published and can be found under the following IP5 Report Link.

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: For a full overview of the 2013 report please be referred to Interbrand's website and link. Of course, the report is broken down into various countries, which focuses on the brands in that country. German readers may be interested to see the top 10 retailers revealed in GERMANY, which include Aldi, Lidl, Edeka, Media Markt, Kaufland, dm, REWE, OBI, Netto and Douglas.

Every year on April 26, the World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated in order to promote intellectual property (IP). 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 IP Day with the aim of increasing general understanding of IP, including trademarks, designs, patents, utility models etc. Each year, a special topic and focus is picked. This year's World Intellectual Property Day 2013 focuses on Creativity - the Next Generation. For more information on this day and the different activities around the world, please see WIPO's website.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) and the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) organized the first Roundtable for qualified employees and staff. It was designed specifically for Paralegals and Trademark Administrators to learn the role, responsibilities and career of a U.S. paralegal and receive an update on the drafting of list of goods and services and an update of current issues at the DPMA. There were 70 participants. Speakers / Host : Barbara Preißner, Dr. Senta Bingener und Martin Sebene (DPMA) Guest Speaker: Karen Holme (Manager, Intellectual Property Sunkist Growers, Inc.) Moderator: Alexandra Dellmeier  (LexDellmeier IP Law Firm) We especially thank Karen Holme for coming from the US to this event. And, of course, we thank the DPMA for hosting this event at their Munich headquarters and making this Roundtable a very special event for everyone!