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 phrase “make your mark on history” is a commonplace one with several meanings and connotations. It is one offered at many high school and college commencement speeches as an exhortation to graduates to have an impact beyond themselves–as future-President, then-Senator John F. Kennedy said when telling Northeastern’s graduating class in 1956 “to make your … 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
Decision 486 of 2000 of the Andean Community sets forth several events that may give rise to the rejection of trademark registration. Said events intend to protect the general interest that is involved in ensuring that no exclusive rights are granted over signs that are not appropriable by the applicant (absolute grounds for rejection) or … Continue Reading
Suppose you have expressed your work in a tangible form, but it contains material generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Although your copyright exists at the moment of creation, does the work contain enough human authorship on which to base a claim for copyright registration? Should you register the copyright on the work with the U.S. … 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
“Yes, the law is about words…,” says Ben Chiriboga in writing about the essential skills that lawyers must have. And Ken White noted more recently that “the entire project of the law is about words meaning specific things.” But our problem often is that the law, or lawyers, frequently use unfamiliar or exotic terms that … Continue Reading
Graphical User Interface (GUI) refers to icons, windows, and/or menus to offer a mechanism to interact with electronic devices visually. There has been quite a bit of debate around the registrability of GUIs under industrial design law in India. While the Designs Act, 2002, recognised protection for GUIs, the Indian Patents Office has been reluctant … 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
Introduction In the recent decision of the UK Patents Court in Oxford University Innovation v Oxford Nanoimaging Limited [2022] EWHC 3200 (Pat), the Court was asked to consider whether UK legislation protecting consumers from unfair contract terms applied to a contract made between Oxford University and a DPhil (doctorate) student. The Court held that the legislation in … Continue Reading
Lots of people are talking about ChatGPT. Some, like those at Microsoft, see it as a valuable tool to be integrated into their products and platforms; indeed, one of its lawyers thought that the answer provided by ChatGPT to his legal question “sounds like a pretty good lawyer 😉.” But others are wondering whether we … 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
Suppose that you are a foreign applicant who either files a trademark application, opposition proceeding, or cancellation proceeding with the USPTO. Can this act of filing subject the foreign applicant to service of process or specific or personal jurisdiction in court proceedings in the U.S.? The answer is YES! as to service of process if … Continue Reading
Software patentability remains a tricky issue, raising questions about a computer program’s inventive step and technical characteristics. However, a deep dive into the applicable legislation provides much-needed clarity for rights holders in Greece.… Continue Reading
Say your company wants to run a new advertising campaign that includes a QR code for people to scan for additional information about your products or services. Not only that, but your creative team decides to go a step further and include your company logo in the middle of the QR code. You launch your … Continue Reading
One of the ways that a “Geographical Indication”, or a “GI” can be protected in Australia is by registration of a ‘certification trade mark’. Certification trade marks are a specific type of trade mark registration designed to identify goods or services that meet certain standards or hold certain characteristics, including (but not limited to) goods … Continue Reading
New provisions in EU free trade agreements (FTAs) have broken new ground when it comes to IP protection. In the last few years, and especially since covid-19, the need for stronger IP provisions has become paramount. Α recent study conducted by the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) highlights the benefits of IP rights … Continue Reading
The American holiday of Thanksgiving is tradition-laden and is celebrated as much for the leftovers after that November Thursday as it is for the turkey on that day, at least according to the US Department of Agriculture. Indeed, Americans “idolize Thanksgiving left overs,” and the “[t]he overstuffing of America’s fridges has become something of a … 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
Suppose that you want to register a trademark that incorporates a name of a person to identify the source of goods or services for your business. Should you register your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)? What about the right of publicity of the individual? Can you obtain a registration from the … Continue Reading
Trick or treat? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff is focused on one “trick” this spooky season: Designing user interfaces to trick or manipulate users into taking actions they would not otherwise approve of, or putting obstacles in place to discourage consumers from exercising certain rights. These so-called “dark patterns” are a continued focus of … Continue Reading