Trademark squatting involves registering a trademark identical or similar to an established brand to profit from its reputation. This practice thrives in jurisdictions with weaker trademark laws,…
After yet so many decisions denying trademark protection for slogans in Germany, the Federal Patent Court in Germany recently allowed registration of the slogan mark “Who stops you” (decision of…
Using country names as trademarks poses unique challenges, often conflicting with public order. Some countries worldwide have specific provisions in their national legislation for registering country…
The Madrid Protocol makes it possible to extend protections from an international registration to the United States. A United States District Court has just cautioned practitioners that they must…
The Swiss Federal Tribunal has ruled that the shape of the Nespresso capsules is technically necessary and that Nestlé's 3D trademark shall therefore be cancelled (decision 4A_61/2021 of 7 September…
The German Federal Supreme Court today once more decided on cancellation claims against German trademark registrations for square-shaped packaging for chocolate products (Decision of 23 July 2020…
Some (among whom, the truly yours) wondered, when in late June the US Supreme Court held unconstitutional the Lanham Act provision (15 U. S. C. §1052(a)) prohibiting registration of trademarks…
By the end of June, the US Supreme Court will have ruled on the registrability of scandalous and immoral marks in Iancu (USPTO) v Brunetti (No. 18-302).
The case raises the issue of whether, in light…
A trademark registration of a color per se is notoriously difficult to achieve, but what about the name of a color? In two recent decisions from the Danish Board of Appeal (BOA) regarding the…
