It has been more than two weeks since the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a formal response to the COVID-19 pandemic announcing that certain petition fees could be waived for patent applicants who are personally impacted by the novel coronavirus. We previously discussed this on our blog. Since then, patent offices around the … Continue Reading
Another state may join the movement towards adopting General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-like privacy protections. A new privacy bill was introduced in the Washington Legislature on January 17, 2019, called the Washington Privacy Act (SB 5376). The Act would give consumers rights that are similar to those under the GDPR, such as the right to … Continue Reading
On January 11, 2019, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) cancelled McDonald’s International Property Company, Ltd.’s European Union registration for BIG MAC, at the request of Supermac’s (Holdings) Ltd. The Cancellation was initiated as part of an ongoing dispute between McDonald’s and Supermac’s over use of the term MAC, and the initiation of the … Continue Reading
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was announced on October 1, 2018, representing a step forward towards a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which President Trump sought to begin renegotiating shortly after his election in 2016. Like NAFTA, the USMCA contains a chapter covering intellectual property, with some notable changes, especially as … Continue Reading
Last month, the Copyright Office’s Review Board denied for the second time the application of the Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) for copyright registration in UEFA’s EURO Trophy. The Trophy is shown below: According to the Board, the Trophy’s overall shape is no different than standard Greek amphora, and thus “as a whole, … Continue Reading
Since the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect, we have been anxiously awaiting enforcement activities that would indicate regulator priorities. The waiting is over. It was recently reported that the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued an Enforcement Notice to AggregateIQ Data Services (AIQ) on July 6, 2018. Although the Enforcement Notice … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court on Friday held that WesternGeco, LLC (“WesternGeco”), owner of patents for a system used to survey the ocean floor, can recover profits from sales it lost outside the U.S. due to Ion Geophysical Corp.’s (“ION”) infringement of its patents. Under section §271(f) of the Patent Act, a company can be liable for … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, June 12, 2018, the European Union’s (EU) highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) (La Cour de justice de l’Union européenne), held that French designer Christian Louboutin’s mark consisting of a color applied to the sole of a shoe is not subject to the EU’s prohibition of the … Continue Reading
We’ve all read dozens of articles, blog posts, and tweets about how GDPR is coming. Unlike Game of Thrones’ much-promised winter, GDPR arrived relatively quickly. With all this lead up, the message has essentially been that the General Data Protection Regulation (the long and rarely used origin of the term GDPR): (a) originates from the … Continue Reading
Who: United States businesses that process (i.e., collect, store, or transmit) the personal information of EU residents in connection with offering goods or services in the EU (online or otherwise) are subject to the GDPR, regardless of whether the business has any physical presence in the EU or any payment is made by the EU … Continue Reading
We met last week with Dan Reavill and Richard Brown from Travers Smith, who gave us an update on Brexit. Here are the highlights from these two esteemed London lawyers: … Continue Reading
Last night, in an election that had one of the largest voter turnouts in British history, a majority of UK citizens voted for the UK to exit the European Union. The ramifications of this vote are still being determined, but at least with respect to intellectual property protection, there are five things you should know:… Continue Reading
