The United States received two major copyright updates in the middle of the pandemic. Copyright owners should breathe a sigh of relief. On December 27, 2020, as part of the major COVID-19 Relief bill, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the “CASE Act”) and the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act of 2020 (the … Continue Reading
Suppose that you want to register a trademark that identifies a source of goods or services for your business. What if you file a federal trademark application and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refuses registration of the trademark based on a likelihood of confusion with another trademark registration? Can you cancel the cited trademark … Continue Reading
Biometric data is seen as a preferred means of identification by many businesses. Unlocking a smartphone using facial recognition and other biometric identifiers, for example, gives users the feeling as if they are more protected (e.g., less risk of identity theft). However, similar to the boom in privacy developments and legislation related to the collection … Continue Reading
Introduction In recent years there has been a remarkable effort to make Greece an attractive destination for the production of audiovisual works (eg, films, TV series and video games). The most important initiatives in this respect are: the cash rebate state aid scheme, which covers 40% of eligible production costs; and the tax relief incentive, … Continue Reading
Law 2121/1993 on Copyright, Related Rights and Cultural Matters (the Copyright Law) does not provide for a fair use or fair dealing defence.(1) Nevertheless – and in compliance with the EU Information Society Directive (2001/29/EC) – the Copyright Law contains an exhaustive list of specific statutory exceptions and limitations on authors’ economic rights.… Continue Reading
Introduction In March 2020 – during the lockdown imposed by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic – Greece adopted a new Trademark Law (4679/2020), which replaced the previous Trademark Law (4072/2012). The purpose of adopting this new law was to implement the EU Trademarks Directive (2015/2436/EC) into Greek law. By virtue of this new … Continue Reading
Personal data (PD) protection is becoming the main topic of the recent days, so the Russian legislation in this sphere changes rapidly. The article represents an overview of updates on personal data regulation for the 3rd quarter of 2020. ATTEMPTS TO COUNTER THE CONSUMERS’ PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights has … Continue Reading
In Greece the main legislative instruments regulating copyright and related rights are: Law 2121/1993 on Copyright, Related Rights and Cultural Matters (the Copyright Law); and Law 4481/2017 on the Collective Management of IP Rights and Related Rights and Collecting Organisations.… Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court recently confirmed that a “generic.com” term may be eligible for federal trademark registration in the U.S., in certain circumstances. We will review the relevant decisions, discuss the Canadian legal framework with respect to registration of such mark and consider the implications of seeking registration of a “generic.com” or a “generic.ca” mark … Continue Reading
THE SUPREME COURT CONFIRMED THAT RUSSIAN USERS MAY FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST AN AMERICAN SOCIAL NETWORK TO A RUSSIAN COURT The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation reviewed a case initiated by a number of Internet users against the American social network Facebook Inc. The Russian users filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc. based on … Continue Reading
On June 5, 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA“) released its decision in 3510395 Canada Inc. v. Attorney General of Canada et al., 2020 FCA 103, in which it upheld the constitutionality of Canada’s anti-spam legislation (“CASL“). CASL is the federal law which regulates the way in which businesses may communicate with consumers using electronic means. The … Continue Reading
For the Patent and Trail Appeal Board (“PTAB”), the PTAB allows a petition for inter parties review (“IPR”) to request cancellation of claims in a U.S. patent. For an inter parties review of a patent, the PTAB institutes review and determines if claims of a patent are unpatentable. Can the PTAB cancel claims based on … Continue Reading
Although in Greece, in principle, no permit is required for filming in public open-air spaces, there are few exceptions to the above rule that could make the situation a little bit complex. These exceptions are mostly linked with the venue where the filming is going to take place, regardless of whether we are talking about … Continue Reading
On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice concerning the waiver of certain trademark-related timing deadlines pursuant to Section 12004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). Powers Created by the CARES Act The CARES Act (which was signed into law by President Trump … Continue Reading
Nowadays the sphere of healthcare is becoming one of the mostly discussed because of a mass spread of the coronavirus pandemic (also COVID-19). Confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world have passed more than a 2.4 million. As the disease is continuing to surge the World Health Organization is warning that there are no specific … Continue Reading
At the end of 2019, Federal Law No. 405-FZ1 entered into force. This act has significantly increased administrative liability for violations of the requirements on the localization of databases containing personal data of Russian nationals. We already wrote about this amendment earlier. The new provisions have significantly increased the amount of fines for violation of requirements for … Continue Reading
Businesses that have just about come to terms with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may have more privacy rules and regulations to deal with going forward. Legislators in a number of other states across the country have recently proposed their own privacy bills. In many instances, these bills are similar to the CCPA, but … Continue Reading
THE GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS AS THE NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ITEM According to the Federal Law “On the Introduction of Amendments to Part Four of the Civil code of the Russian Federation” that shall come into force on the 27th of June 2020, a new civil law institute – the geographical indication is appearing in the Civil … Continue Reading
The field of collective management of music authors’ rights in Greece is currently experiencing a series of ongoing developments regarding the establishment and operation of collecting societies representing music authors in the country, with the situation still remaining uncertain as to how the landscape will look like in a few months’ time. It is noted … Continue Reading
Sending shockwaves across the collegiate landscape, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 206, the Fair Pay to Play Act (the Act) on September 30, 2019. The Act takes aim squarely at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) amateurism rules which prohibit student athletes from profiting from their athletic skill while in college and threatens to … Continue Reading
Last month the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced a landmark new policy to incentivize companies to develop robust antitrust compliance programs. For the first time, the Antitrust Division will now consider a company’s antitrust compliance program as a factor in evaluating whether or not to bring criminal charges against the company and its officers. … Continue Reading
Since August 3, 2019, all foreign-domiciled U.S. trademark applicants, registrants and parties to proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board must be represented by an attorney licensed to practice law in the U.S. (as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 11.1). Such U.S. licensed attorneys are required to both affirm that … Continue Reading
Over the past half-decade, Congress and the courts have made aggressive efforts to curb the worst abuses of the patent system. In 2013, Congress passed the America Invents Act (AIA), which established the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to hear patent validity challenges outside of the federal court system. In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling … Continue Reading
What constitutes a “scandalous” trademark? The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been grappling with this question since the enactment of the 1905 Trademark Act, later codified in the 1946 Lanham Act, which forbids registration of any mark that “[c]onsists of or comprises immoral . . . or scandalous matter.” Since the creation of this provision, the USPTO has regularly rejected marks for … Continue Reading
