The European Commission has proposed amendments to the Community Trade Mark (CTM) Regulation and Trade Marks Directive. The primary function is to harmonize EU member trade-mark laws. This bureaucratic hygiene aim – which resulted in a mixture of trade-mark rights expansion and contraction – stands in contrast to the current, controversial and (in my opinion) [...]

Posted in Canada, Design, European Union, IP, Regulatory Policy, Trademarks, WIPO
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Earlier this month, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual “Special 301 Report,” which evaluates the intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement of its trading partners. Over the last few years, Canada has been listed on the “Priority Watch List”, which is reserved for countries that have the most deficient IP protection [...]

Posted in Copyright, copyright reform, European Union, IP, IP Reform, Patents, Pharmaceutical Drugs, Supreme Court of Canada, Trademarks, US, US-Canada Relations, WIPO
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This paper traces the emergence of a new res or object of protection within European trade mark law. Proprietary rights in trade marks have conventionally been premised upon the mark’s ability to communicate useful information; namely, indicating the commercial source of goods or services, also referred to as the essential function of a trade mark.

Posted in European Union, Feature Post, IP, Trademarks
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The re-posting of this analysis is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective.

Posted in European Union, Feature Post, Internet, IP, Jurisdiction, MediaLaws, Trademarks
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