In a last minute effort to avoid a government shutdown, on December 21, 2020 Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”). Surprisingly, and without much notice, input, or deliberation, Congress included provisions in the Act that could significantly change American trademark and copyright laws. Trademark and copyright owners should review and understand these changes, which provide both significant benefits—that require rethinking enforcement strategies—but also hazards to plan for and address. Within the…

Scooter Braun and Ithaca Holding’s recent acquisition of the record label Big Machine Records and, most importantly, the master recordings of Taylor Swift’s first 6 albums is no love story. Indeed, Scooter Braun’s subsequent USD $300 million sale of these masters to the Disney family founded private equity firm, Shamrock Capital, has Ms. Swift seeing red. While it is clear Ms. Swift believes these masters should belong to her, these recent transactions are a stark…

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and is currently in the Brexit Transition Period. This will end at 11pm on 31 December 2020 – defined in legislation as “IP Completion Day”. The expiry of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020 will impact the protection of trade marks and designs in the EU and the UK in many ways, and is set out in UK legislation to a large degree. Our specialist European brands team have…

On October 15, 2020, the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN) has published its Common Practice No. 8 (CP8) about the ‘Use of a trade mark in a form differing from the one registered’. The CP8 provides guidelines and practical examples for users about the common standards to be applied by the EU Trademark Office (EUIPO) and the national offices of the EU Member States (MS IPOs) after consultation with all parties as well as…

On 11 November 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the amendments to the China Copyright Law (the Amendments), which will take effect on 1 June 2021. This is the third time the Copyright Law has been amended since it was promulgated in 1990. The first comprehensive amendment took place in 2001, and in 2010 it was amended again in response to a WTO decision resolving a U.S. complaint. Since the first…

When thinking about the 2020 United States presidential election, burritos may not be the first image that pops into your mind. But companies in industries ranging from food and beverages to clothing apparel are using brand power to encourage people to vote in this year’s United States presidential election. This blog, while about the use of brand power in the election, is not about politics but rather offers an observation about an interesting trend in…