Year 2015

Interview: IP Enforcement In The US Fashion Industry

Protecting intellectual property rights in the fashion industry can be a tricky exercise in this fast-moving environment. Several avenues are possible for fashion designers in the United States, such as trademark, trade dress or design patents.

Perkins Coie IP litigation partner Ann Schofield Baker, based in New York, participated in an interview with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez on ways fashion designers can protect and enforce their rights in the US.

UK To Introduce Webmarking For Registered Designs

With strong backing from interested parties in the intellectual property community, the United Kingdom government plans to introduce legislation to give registered UK or European Community design holders the option to mark their products with the address of a website that links to the relevant registered design numbers, it said today.

Algeria Joins Madrid Protocol, Triggers Global Easing Of Registration Of Marks

Trademark applicants should soon be able to make better use of the Madrid system for the registration of international trademarks, the World Intellectual Property Organization has announced. Algeria became the last country to join a protocol to the international trademark system, which will allow the protocol to rule the international registration procedures, making it easier for applicants to get global protection.

WIPO Launches Development Agenda Project In Uganda

KAMPALA, UGANDA - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a Development Agenda program in Uganda, aimed at building capacity in the use of appropriate technology, specific technical and scientific information to address development challenges in the country.

NGOs Call Out Switzerland For Pressuring Colombia On Compulsory Licences; Switzerland Replies

Civil society groups are calling on the Swiss government to refrain from putting pressure on developing countries wishing to manufacture generic medicines without the consent of the patent holder. The groups allege that the Swiss government tried to unduly influence Colombia to not take such a step, though it is permitted by international trade rules.

The Swiss government, for its part, says it participated in a public consultation in Colombia and merely underlined that negotiations between governments and original manufacturers are a better way to go than a compulsory licence.

USPTO Proposes New PTAB Trial Rules

This week the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a proposed rule to amend the existing rules of practice for inter partes review, post-grant review, the transitional program for covered business method patents and derivation proceedings that implemented provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA).