SUMMER – FESTIVAL TIME – BUILDING TRADEMARK VALUE

Post date: 
July 12, 2025
Categories: 
Brand, Trademarks, Intellectual Property

SUMMER – FESTIVAL TIME – BUILDING TRADEMARK VALUE

Well over two months late for World IP Day, but still keen to talk about IP and music.

Per chance, I recently listened to an OMR podcast with Holger Hübner, one of the founders of the Wacken Open Air festival and I was surprised how focused he was on brand management and the implications it has. More than once he reiterated that “the brand takes precedence over everything.” What a great example of how Intellectual Property (IP) and music go hand in hand. Read more on our blog.

Read more about SUMMER – FESTIVAL TIME – BUILDING TRADEMARK VALUE

A guide for influencers, Part 1: Protecting your own intellectual property

Post date: 
May 27, 2025
Categories: 
Trademarks, IP Rights, Copyright Law, Design Law, Intellectual Property
Tags: 
influencer, #iprights, #trademarks, #designs, Copyright

Have you ever posted a video of yourself performing a little dance on TikTok? Or uploaded photos of your latest vacation on a sun-bathed island on Instagram? There is a good chance that you did, since more than 5 billion persons are currently social media users, which represents roughly 64% of the world population. If you post on social media regularly and receive payments for doing so by commercial partners, congratulations: you may call yourself an influencer! No matter what the haters say about it, your activity on social media is an actual business. The contents you create are valuable and therefore deserve protection. In this article, you will learn a few basics on how to protect your own intellectual property.

IP Right Holders Do Better

Post date: 
April 17, 2025
Categories: 
EUIPO, European Intellectual Property Office, Patents, Trademark Law, Trademarks, IP Rights, Intellectual Property Law, EPO - European Patent Office, Intellectual Property

IP Right Holders do better

Findings of the “Intellectual Property Rights and Firm Performance in the European Union” firm-level analysis report by the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and the EPO (European Patent Office) of January 2025

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(Image created by ChatGPT)

COMING UP ON 1 MAY 2025: AMENDMENTS TO EU DESIGN LAW

Post date: 
April 07, 2025
Categories: 
EUIPO, Procedural rules, Design Law, Intellectual Property

We recently held a webinar on the upcoming amendments to EU design law. To learn more about the new amendments, listen to our webinar recording uploaded on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qboxETLtuXo. Most changes will be applicable as from 1 May 2025, others will have to wait until 1 July 2026 when secondary legislation comes into force. Read our latest blog article to get some practical advice on the current changes.

Copyrightability of AI-generated content: a brief update and recommendation

Post date: 
March 17, 2025
Categories: 
IP Rights, Intellectual Property Law, Copyright Law, Intellectual Property
Tags: 
Copyright, Copyright Law, Artificial Intelligence, AI

Few are those nowadays who have not heard of the wonders of machine learning technologies. Names such as “ChatGPT”, “DeepSeek” or “Midjourney” have become known to virtually everybody and, for many, are now part of our everyday life. Writing a moving poem, drawing a realistic picture or composing a pretty melody has never been as easy as with the help of these new virtual assistants. As artificial intelligence (so-called “AI”) becomes increasingly involved in creative processes, the question of whether copyright protection may be granted to AI-generated content becomes more relevant by the day.

Virtual Goods in Focus – EU General Court’s First Ruling

Post date: 
January 21, 2025
Categories: 
EUIPO, The Court of Justice of the European Union, Trademark Law, European General Court, Decisions, Distinctiveness, Intellectual Property
Tags: 
#virtualgoods, #gc, #watches, #glashuette

Virtual Goods in Focus – EU General Court’s First Ruling

The General Court (GC) has issued its first-ever ruling on the distinctiveness of a trademark applied to virtual goods. The decision T11163/23 dated 11 December 2024 – “Glashütte ORIGINAL”  concerned the application for the following sign:

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Conversion of an EU Trademark Application – Possible before the Refusal of your Application takes Effect?

Post date: 
December 19, 2024
Categories: 
EUIPO, Procedural rules, Trademark Law

Has the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) rejected your trademark application but the decision is not yet final? Consider withdrawing the application to keep the option alive to convert your application into national trademark applications in individual EU Member States – without the restrictions that apply to conversion after final refusal.

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(Source: shutterstock, image ID 2192321961)

NEW - International Comparative Legal Guide – Designs 2025

Post date: 
November 26, 2024
Categories: 
Design Law, FAQ
Tags: 
ICLG, Designs 2025

If you are looking for practical insights and intelligence on design law in different jurisdictions, the International Comparative Legal Guide published by glg Global Legal Group is a valuable source of information.

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UPDATE: October 2024 – Intellectual Property (IP) Crime in Europe, joint report by EUIPO and EUROPOL

Post date: 
November 18, 2024
Categories: 
EUIPO, Product Piracy, IP Rights, Intellectual Property Law, Counterfeiting, Intellectual Property
Tags: 
#EUIPO, #EUROPOL, #IP Crime, #Counterfeiting

Christmas is only a few weeks away! Now is the time for including gifts for your loved ones to your shopping lists. But as you browse through busy stores or infinite lists of products online looking for bargains, do not let the sweet vapours of mulled wine dull your senses. As the EUIPO and EUROPOL recently highlighted in a joint report published on 23 October 2024 on the ecosystem of Intellectual Property (IP) crime, counterfeit goods keep finding their way to our shelves and represent a staggering 5.8% of EU trade. The report sheds light on how much IP crime remains a threat to European consumers, how it is enabled, and how its impact could be mitigated.

Understanding Trademark Law Through the Lens of Halloween: A Spooky Guide

Post date: 
October 30, 2024
Categories: 
Brand, European Union Trademark, Trademark Law, Trademarks, IP Rights, Intellectual Property Law
Tags: 
#halloween

Understanding Trademark Law Through the Lens of Halloween: A Spooky Guide

Halloween, with its pumpkins, costumes, and haunted houses, is one of the most exciting and creative times of the year. But behind the spooky masks and candy bowls lies a complex world of Intellectual Property Law, especially trademarks, which many businesses need to navigate carefully during the season.

Fraudulent Invoices in IP Matters – Criminals in Germany sentenced to 22 months in prison on probation

Post date: 
October 16, 2024
Categories: 
EUIPO, Intellectual Property Law, Decisions

If you are the owner of a registered patent, trademark or design (IP rights), you have surely received communication in the past that looked like it was an invoice coming from an official source, that mentioned the correct registration number of your IP right and that made you assume that you needed to pay this invoice to uphold your IP right. NEVER pay such “invoice” unless you have made sure that it is genuine.

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(Source: Shutterstock Photo ID 2162707613)