Broadcasting of background music – Equitable remuneration – Mere provision of physical facilities – Sound equipment on board trains and aircraft – Presumption of communication to the public as a result of possession of technical means – Implications on Greek case law and practice in relation to use of in-store/background music in business premises.… Continue Reading
Introduction In this case before the Multi-member Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki, the plaintiff requested judicial protection of his recipes (i.e., dishes and seasonings) as works of IP. (1) He made this request on grounds including trademark law and unfair competition law. However, the Court rejected the action as:… Continue Reading
Whether one focuses on the word’s connotation of silliness or excitement, or maybe even anger, or analogizes to the raucous and rhymingly-named team from Savannah that makes up its own baseball rules, US copyright law is currently going a little “bananas.” From ongoing debates about the human element (or requirement) of authorship to debates over what … Continue Reading
When litigating trademark infringement cases in Colombia, the issue arises as to how the plaintiff should provide valid evidence of the damages arising from the unauthorized use of a trademark, as well as to what admissible evidence may be used to prove the amount of the indemnification claimed in the proceeding.… Continue Reading
There has been immense activity surrounding the jurisprudence of celebrity rights in India with numerous judicial pronouncements in recent years. As regards legislation, there is no statute in India that expressly recognises the publicity or personality rights of individuals; therefore, the aspect of inheritance of publicity rights of a deceased person is still not entirely … Continue Reading
The introduction of Law 4481/2017 into the Greek legislation aimed to regulate the collective management of IP and relative rights, thus amending the EU Collective Rights Management Directive. (1) Specifically, in its regulation of the public performance of musical works incorporated in legitimately released sound carriers, stores, and undertakings, article 24 of Law 4481/2017 introduced a … Continue Reading
Foreign entities wishing to register an Australian trademark should be aware that Australia is a ‘first-to-use’ jurisdiction. This means that the owner of a trademark is the first user of that trademark. First to File In some jurisdictions, the entity that is the first to file an application to register a particular trademark is the … Continue Reading
Exclusive rights over a trademark in Colombia arise from registration. Also, when holding a trademark registration in Colombia, the obligation arises for its owner to use the trademark in commerce, beginning three (3) years from the date when registration was granted. This means that a trademark registration in Colombia may be canceled by the Trademark … Continue Reading
With the introduction of several readily available applications, artificial intelligence (AI) has leaped into the mainstream and brought with it a host of legal questions. Following the release in November of the now popular generative AI platform ChatGPT by OpenAI, companies including Microsoft and Google are rushing to release their own generative AI services or … Continue Reading
Exclusive rights over a trademark in Colombia arise solely from registration. Therefore, the general rule is that a trademark registered or protected under the legislation of a different country may not be used as valid grounds for opposition against a trademark application in Colombia. However there are exceptions to this rule, namely, by filing an … Continue Reading
The High Court of Delhi recently adjudicated upon a case that involved an appeal from Armasuisse (a Federal Agency of the Swiss Federation) against orders of the Indian Trade Marks registry granting trademark registrations to a private Indian company for the marks SWISS MILITARY and in respect of class 25 goods. As a background, Respondent … Continue Reading
The Delhi High Court (‘Court’) in its judgment (dated October 28, 2022) in the case of Frankfinn Aviation Service Private Limited v. Tata SIA Airlines Limited, [CS(COMM) 54/2022 & I.A. 1795/2022, 3651-52/2022] recently deliberated whether the exclusive rights available to a trademark owner under the Indian Trade Marks Act, 1999 (‘Act’) would restrain a third-party … Continue Reading
In today’s age, the importance of brands (and in turn trademarks) cannot be undermined. It is through brands that businesses (be it domestic or international) are able to thrive and flourish in various highly competitive sectors. While the brand promotion, protection, and enforcement strategy has been focused for many decades on conventional marks (such as … Continue Reading
Suppose you have not registered your copyright in a book with the U.S. Copyright Office until someone has infringed your copyright by copying substantial portions of your book. Let’s also suppose you can prove that the alleged infringer has infringed your work and you can prove that the infringement caused you lost sales, lost opportunities … Continue Reading
A few months ago, a large shampoo Company advertisement was published in Greek media (both on TV and οn social media), in which members of the Greek LGBTQ+ community starred. Through the campaign, the Company praises diversity and the exceeding of stereotypes and within a few hours, it became a “viral topic of discussion” on … Continue Reading
The US Supreme Court in March decided it will revisit a dispute over pop artist Andy Warhol’s images of Prince. In taking up the case, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, the Court aims to more clearly define the scope of what’s known as “fair use” in US copyright law. The … Continue Reading
Suppose that you want to register your copyright by preparing and filing a copyright application with the U.S. Copyright Office. What if you were unaware that you made some mistakes in the copyright application and the copyright application issued into a copyright registration? You subsequently find that someone is infringing your copyright registration and you … Continue Reading
Our favorite thing about spring [is] spring cleaning. It’s a way to say, “I’m dusting off the winter blues and coming out of hibernation.”… At the office, spring cleaning can take on a whole new meaning. It is a chance to reorganize and refresh your workspace and your workflow. Plus, organizing will actually improve your overall focus and … Continue Reading
Anti-piracy committee Τhe Committee for the Notification of Copyright and Related Rights Infringement on the Internet (known as the “anti-piracy committee”) was first established under Law 4481/2017. Its aim is to deal with cases of online infringement of copyright and related rights through an extrajudicial mechanism. The anti-piracy committee consists of three members: the president … Continue Reading
Hermes recently sued a digital artist for knocking off its Birkin handbag through the issuance of MetaBirkin non-fungible tokens (“NFT”). For those not aware of the filing or related media attention, the artist created fuzzy images of the Hermes Birkin handbag and minted them as NFTs. NFTs are digital records of data stored on a … Continue Reading
Let’s suppose that you have not registered your copyright in a book with the U.S. Copyright Office and you find someone has infringed your copyright by copying substantial portions of your book. Let’s also suppose you are able to prove that the alleged infringer has infringed your work and you have notified the alleged infringer … Continue Reading
On September 8, 2021, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) in Canada released its decision in Salna v. Voltage Pictures, LLC, 2021 FCA 176 which considered whether a reverse class action, a term used colloquially to describe where a plaintiff seeks certification of a respondent/defendant class proceeding, could be pursued in connection with a copyright … Continue Reading
