TRADEMARKS

A bunch of Italian entrepreneurs are still trying to register a trademark with the symbol of cannabis – do such marks really incite consumers to use illegal substances?

In my previous publications on IP Blog I have already discussed the problems encountered by applicants in connection with registration of trademarks having some reference to hemp and cannabis (The symbol of cannabis is contrary...

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Surname, first name, pseudonym, personal image – can they be regisrtered as a trademark in the Polish Patent Office or EUIPO?

On 24 March 2016 a Spanish company, Gaudí BCN Projects S.L., filed in EUIPO a trademark application no. 015270077 having the following representation: The above mark was applied for services in class 35 (among others for...

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What a trademark is like everyone can see… but, is it so obvious indeed? – Theory and practice in the light of EUIPO jurisprudence. Marks as the sound.

Our articles on various kinds of trademarks published systematically in a series under the title “What a trademark is like everyone can see… but is it so obvious indeed?” discussed among others sound marks as a...

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What a trademark is like everyone can see… but, is it so obvious indeed? – theory and practice in EUIPO’s judicial decisions

In our series of articles on various kinds of trademarks titled “What a trademark is like everyone can see…but, is it so obvious indeed?”, motion trademarks were mentioned among others as a category of marks...

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May the logos of famous fashion brands represented in the form of a pastiche referring to the idea of “social distancing” infringe copyrights?

For over half a year the world has been functioning in a new mode of “lockdown” and “social distancing”. Although we are gradually becoming used to the new reality as time goes by, we should...

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The symbol of cannabis is contrary to public policy and a trademark containing it cannot be registered in the European Union.

In a judgment of December 12th 2019, in case T-683/18, the General Court (Seventh Chamber) stated that a trademark referring to cannabis cannot be registered, as it is contrary to public policy in the meaning of...

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What a trademark is like everyone can see… but, is it so obvious indeed? Part 5 – a sound

Now, let us have a closer look at yet another kind of unconventional trademarks (apart from the most popular ones, such as word, word-figurative or figurative marks) – a sound trademark. A sound trademark is a mark which consists exclusively of a sound, or a combination of sounds.

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Fewer trademark registrations in Poland, the growing number of Polish entrepreneurs choosing the EUTM registration

After the years 2016 and 2017, which were abundant in national trademark applications filed in the Polish Patent Office, a significant decrease in the number of applications occurred in the year 2018. However the number of the European Union Trademarks filed in 2018 reflects the upward trend which has been observed in the recent years in the growing number of EUTM applications filed by the Polish companies.

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Automatic alerts of .eu domain name registrations equivalent to the European Union Trademarks – a new tool available from now to EUTM applicants and holders

Owing to strengthening collaboration between the European Registry for Internet Domains (EURiD) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the applicants and holders of the European Union trademarks will be able to receive automatic...

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When applying for trademark registration, do not forget about the author

Upon seeing a word or word-figurative trademark, do we wonder who really has the exclusive right to use it? The applicants are hardly ever the creators of a trademark. More frequently, a logo is purchased form a graphic designing studio or a repository of files (e.g. Shutterstock). However, such purchase does not mean the acquisition of material copyrights to the form of expression of the mark.

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The devil is in the details, or from when one should count the 5-year period, during which it is possible not to use one’s trade mark without consequences?

Our clients frequently ask the question when exactly the obligation to start to use a trade mark arises, or in other words, from when the absence of genuine use may render the mark vulnerable to declaring lapse due to non-use. The continuous period, after which the holder of registration is at the latest obliged to put his mark to genuine use, in order to avoid negative consequences for its exclusive right, lasts 5 years.

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Apple vs. Animoji. Does it really seem to be the end of a famous dispute?

Recently, a worldwide premiere of a new iPhone has taken place. The product named “iPhone X” has raised controversies mainly because of its price and the function of unblocking the phone by means of recognizing the user’s face. As far as the price of this new device is the issue of secondary importance for the true lovers of Apple’s products, the function of recognizing the user’s face is not.

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