MIP Search | Managing Intellectual Property

Germany goes colour blind

The German Federal Supreme Court has broken through the blockade of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office dismissing applications for abstract colours and colour combinations. Wolfgang von Meibom and Christian Harmsen look at the background and consequences of its landmark decision

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

Film makers act tough in Hong Kong

For the first time ever the MPA (Motion Picture Association), which represents Hollywood’s seven leading film studios around the world, is instituting civil proceedings in Hong Kong to recover losses from optical disc piracy. In another first, the MPA is joined in the action by the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry): the two organizations have never jointly taken part in a civil action before.

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

Japan tackles the technology tsunami

Rapid technological change is forcing legislators to re-consider IP legislation everywhere. John Tessensohn and Shusaku Yamamoto analyze Japan’s attempts to modernize copyright and trade mark protection

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

SmithKline barred from selling chicken pox vaccine

A US court has ordered SmithKline Beecham to stop selling the varicella zoster chicken pox vaccine in the US and Canada for the next three years.

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

The latest news from the Federal Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has been active this summer in many areas of patent law. Some of its most noteworthy holdings are briefly reviewed below:

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

Congress boosts protection for rights owners

The Senate and the House of Representatives each passed IP bills in August designed to increase the odds in favour of trade mark and patent owners.

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

Protecting trade marks in non-Roman script

Legal relations concerning the protection of word trade marks in non-Roman script are regulated in Ukraine mainly by the Law "On the Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services" (the Law) and the "Rules on Compiling, Filing and Examining an Application for Grant of a Certificate of Ukraine on a Mark for Goods and Services" (the Rules).

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

Comment-The WTO’s millennium bug

It will come as no surprise to rights owners to hear that Venezuela’s government has asked for an extension to the January 1 2000 TRIPs deadline. Since TRIPs was negotiated in 1992, it has become increasingly obvious that many developing countries lack either the will or the means to fulfil completely their obligations and implement new legislation.

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

Protecting geographical indications

A geographical indication may be protected by registering it at the State Office for Inventions and Trade Marks, as per the Law no 84/1998 or as per the international conventions to which Romania is a part, only if there exists a close connection between the goods referred to and by the geographical indication and the place of origin thereof with regard to quality, reputation or other characteristics of the goods.

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

New law to govern information society

On July 28, Royal Decree no 1289, of July 23, creating the Information Society and Inter-ministerial New Technologies Commission entered into force in Spain.

Managing IP Correspondent, August 31 1999

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