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Brexit: UK government publishes no-deal readiness report – IP provisions
Last week the UK government published a No-deal Readiness Report, setting out the changes that could take place in the event of a no-deal Brexit and what steps it is taking to be prepared for Brexit on 31 October 2019. In this blog we recap briefly at what the government is doing in relation to intellectual property, as outlined in the report.
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Angular lines of the Zhejiang scooter distinguish the design from the classic Vespa LX scooter
The EU General Court has recently dismissed an appeal by Piaggio, the manufacturers of the iconic Vespa scooter, who applied for a declaration of invalidity of a registered Community design belonging to a Chinese manufacturer.
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Tweet talk: IP protection and social media
Is a tweet the intellectual property of its owner? Can rights in a hashtag be protected, infringed or freely commercialised by third parties? Given that the aim of social media is to facilitate open public communication, it can seem strange, or even counterintuitive, to seek to protect a hashtag, a handle, or a tweet. However, if you are sharing creative content, or marketing your brand through social media, it is important to be aware of how this content is – or isn't – protected.
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*Significant procedural changes for privacy and data protection claims come into force today*
Significant changes to Part 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules ("CPR") come into force today, 1 October 2019, establishing a new regime for media, communications, privacy and data protection claims. Part 53 of the CPR, which has traditionally covered defamation claims only covers not only data protection claims and the tort of misuse of private information, but also confidential information claims.
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Copyright Directive update - stakeholder dialogues to commence shortly
Earlier this month, the EU Commission opened the stakeholder dialogue process as required by Article 17 of the Copyright Directive. As stated by the European Commission, 'the objective of the dialogue will be to hear stakeholders' views and to discuss possible practical solutions for the application of Article 17, including actions to be taken by online content-sharing service providers with regard to unauthorised content, taking into account the interests of all relevant parties and the safeguards for users'. The idea is that the outcome of these discussions will then feed into the guidance the EU Commission will publish on the application of Article 17.
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This is not a game: ISP blocking injunction granted against websites selling circumvention technology for Nintendo Switch
Nintendo has won an injunction in the UK High Court forcing five of the largest broadband ISPs to block four websites that were found to have facilitated copyright infringement (i.e. internet piracy) by selling devices that allowed unauthorised games to be played on Nintendo's Switch console.
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#darferdas? – distinctiveness clarified by the CJEU
In a recent ruling in AS v Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (C-541/18), the CJEU held that consideration should be given to all the relevant facts and circumstances, including all the likely types of use of the mark applied for, during examination.
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CJEU to toy with design rights: Does a disclosure outside the EU commence protection or destroy novelty?
The CJEU has been asked to consider two questions in relation to unregistered Community design rights. Even though (as the name suggests) Community design rights relate to protection within the EU, the issues relate to activities happening outside the EU territory.
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Another page-turner – the resale of e-books does not result in copyright exhaustion
Despite strong arguments to the contrary, in Tom Kabinet (C-263/18), Advocate General Szpunar has opined that the right to distribute a copyright work is not exhausted when an e-book is sold. The right therefore remains valid to be relied upon by the copyright owner post-sale, in contrast to the position with hard-copy books.
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Jurisdiction to hear EU trade mark infringement clarified by CJEU
In AMS Neve v Heritage Audio, the CJEU clarified what jurisdiction the Courts of EU Member States have in relation to infringement proceedings concerning EU trade marks.