Category Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains

Brand Owners Urge Caution On New Top-Level Internet Domain Names

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
Trademark owners are not likely to benefit from the approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) of a predicted 500 new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs), industry speakers said at a 25 November Web seminar on protecting and promoting brands online. Potential risks include the need for defensive domain-name registrations in many TLDs and the lack of an effective procedure for resolving disputes, they said.

Trademark Protection, Broadcast Rights Vital For Sports, Say Stakeholders

By Kaitlin Mara
Intellectual property protection is key to the innovation and infrastructure surrounding athletic achievement, said speakers at a World Intellectual Property Organization training event for journalists last week. Trademark protection, copyright protection and other forms of IP rights ensure that the organisations that promote sport and its participants can continue their work, they argued.

US Elections, Global Economy Are Major Challenges For US IP Association

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - The American Intellectual Property Law Association faces profound political, legislative and administrative challenges in coming months, new Executive Director Q. Todd Dickinson said in a 13 November interview in The Hague. Key among them are major changes at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the new Obama administration, the fate of patent reform in the new US Congress, and the impact, if any, of the global economic downturn on patents, he said.