Augusta National Blazes a Trail to Registration of its Iconic Green Jacket
Recent PTAB Guidance on Permissible Drawing Amendments for U.S. Design Applications
Two recent decisions by the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) highlight the nuances of allowable and impermissible drawing amendments during prosecution of U.S. design patent applications, and provide important guidance to design patent applicants on how to prepare their applications to ensure maximum flexibility during prosecution.…
Prince’s Estate Makes it Rain Purple on the USPTO
Paisley Park Enterprises, Inc., the music publishing company founded by the late artist Prince, recently obtained a federal trademark registration for the purple color shown below known as “Love Symbol #2” in the Pantone Matching System. The registration covers music, video, and motion picture-related recording goods in International Class 009.…
New Revisions to Chinese Patent Law Increase Design Patent Harmonization
Missing Appointments: Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew
Software licensing audits – common pitfalls
By Alexis Fierens, Kristof De Vulder and Heidi Waem
Software licensing audits are commonly used by software vendors to verify compliance with the terms and conditions of software license agreements. Software license agreements typically contain an audit right for the software vendor (licensor) and an obligation for the licensee to co-operate during such audits.
Licensing audits are, in principle, an effective tool for software vendors to ensure that the licensees’ use of the relevant…
Booking.whocares: SCOTUS Issues a Headline-Making Trademark Decision… But Does It Really Matter?
CJEU CONFIRMS THAT ORIGINAL FUNCTIONAL SHAPES MAY OBTAIN COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
By: Alexis Fierens and Gert-Jan Fraeyman
On June 11, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued an important decision in relation to a request for a preliminary ruling from the Commercial Court of Liège (Belgium) concerning the question whether shapes with a technical function can obtain copyright protection.
Facts
Brompton Bicycle Ltd. (hereinafter “Brompton”), an English company, markets a folding bicycle, sold in its current form since 1987 (the “Brompton Bicycle”).…
Watch Now: Trademarks for the Generalist In-House Counsel
Watch the On-Demand Video Here.
Trademarks – or brands – can be among a company’s most valuable assets. Some companies have enormous marketing departments focused on branding, while others have a single social media intern, but every company that provides goods or services is branding them somehow. Whether it’s your company name, specific product names, a logo, or something more unique, your business probably owns atleast one trademark – though lawyers and laypeople alike often…
IP UPDATE: RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN EU COPYRIGHT LAW: STIM & SAMI V FLEETMANAGER SWEDEN AB & NORDISK BILUTHYRNING AB (C-753/18)
By: Alexis Fierens, Heidi Waem, and Thomas Gils
On 2 April 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued an interesting decision in relation to a request for a preliminary ruling with respect to a dispute concerning copyrights.
Facts
The request for a preliminary ruling in this case was made in connection with two separate but similar cases pending before the Swedish Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen).
The first dispute involved…