Category Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains

US Ruling Creates Uncertainty For Famous Foreign Trademarks

By Steve Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
In a ruling that surprised many trademark experts in the United States, one of the country's most respected appellate courts recently cut back on the protection given to famous foreign trademarks. If such marks are well known in the US but are not registered or used in the country, they are unprotected by federal law, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Rising Friction On Whether To Move To WIPO Talks On Global TK Regime

By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Halfway into a 10-day committee meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), friction was rising between members seeking to prod the slow-moving committee to begin consideration of an international instrument for the protection of…

TLD Or Not TLD For Cities? Berlin Senate Wants Out

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch A fight has begun over the virtual existence of Germany’s capital: Does a .berlin address space have a right to exist beside the old standby berlin.de? The outcome of the fight could have…

Quiet TRIPS Council Meeting Expected; Enforcement Push Continues

By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Next week’s meeting of the World Trade Organization’s intellectual property committee is expected to be “business as usual,” continuing work on difficult topics, including the committee’s role in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. On…

The WIPO View On Enforcement, Idris And Development Agenda

Wolfgang Starein is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) official with primary responsibility for enforcement of intellectual property rights. In a series of recent interviews with Intellectual Property Watch, Starein talked about WIPO’s enforcement agenda for the coming year, a…

Industry: Criminal Checks Needed For Tasting, Kiting, Spying

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch International organisations should step in to prevent the “tasting,” “kiting” and “spying” related to Internet domain names, say representatives from the US telecommunications and trademark industries. These new activities are dramatically altering online…

Rights, Content Issues May Complicate Internet Domain Name Expansion

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch LISBON – The rejection of the .xxx top-level domain by the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week in Lisbon was a major highlight of the meeting…

Sharp Increase In Internet Domain Name Disputes Last Year, WIPO Says

By Stephen Flug for Intellectual Property Watch The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said there was a 25 percent increase in “cybersquatting” complaints – the registering and use of domain names to profit from another party’s trademark – last year…

TRIPS Meeting: Boost To IP Issues As Part Of Resumed Trade Talks, US Submits Enforcement Proposal

By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Members of a 13 February World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting on intellectual property rights, signalled that consultations on IP issues will be stepped up in the coming weeks as part of the overall revival in…