Search results for

Stephen Whybrow, CMS Cameron McKenna, London

In an appeal from the US Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Scott v Koyama, 61 USPQ 2d 1856 (Fed Cir Feb 27 2002)), an interference between a party (Koyama) that filed a patent application in Japan on March 13 1990 and a party (Scott) whose UK patent application was filed on March 29 1990, the Federal Circuit was faced with a situation in which neither party could rely on its actual reduction to practice of the invention. This was because the work was performed outside the US, and the applications were filed before January 1 1996. Had they been filed after that date, a statute (35 USC 104) permits the introduction of evidence concerning work performed anywhere in the world.

Lucian Enescu In Romania, the holder of a previously registered trade mark (or application), or of a notorious trade mark may, under law no 84/1998, file an opposition to the registration of a new trade mark (within three months from the date when it was published in the Official Gazette). The opponent may consider the new sign as being prejudicial to their previous right if it is identical or similar to their own trade mark or if it protects identical or similar products as the ones protected by their own trade mark. An assessment in the case of identical marks is simpler. For similar trade marks, three possible types of similarity must be considered when analyzing a new trade mark for registration: visual, phonetic and semantic.

One of the key issues in the complex of problems surrounding exhaustion is the question of whether goods bearing the mark of a trade mark owner have been put on the market with that owner's consent. If so, the trade mark owner cannot prohibit parallel-importers from importing the goods into the EEA, according to article 7, section 1 of the Harmonization Directive (89/104/EEC).

Ingrid Hering, London

Michael Evans, London

Ralph Cunningham, Hong Kong

Ingrid Hering, London

Ralph Cunningham, Hong Kong

James Nurton, London