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Back-and-forth with USPTO stymies OpenAI’s bid to register CHATGPT

Back-and-forth with USPTO stymies OpenAI’s bid to register CHATGPT

You may be surprised to learn that ChatGPT—the name for OpenAI’s ubiquitous AI-powered chatbot—is not registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Not yet, at least. Since December 2022, OpenAI has been involved in a back-and-forth with the...

Hogar Controls gets relief from Delhi High Court on trademark matter

Hogar Controls gets relief from Delhi High Court on trademark matter

Hon’ble Delhi High Court has given a relief order in favor of Vishnu Reddy Hyderabad, 7 March 2024 – Hogar Controls, a leading global IoT company renowned for its design-centric approach and robust smart home solutions, has got an injunction order in the trademark...

UK Government abandons plans for voluntary code of conduct for AI

UK Government abandons plans for voluntary code of conduct for AI

It is terrifying to think, considering how pervasive it now seems to be, that artificial intelligence (AI) exploded into the public consciousness only a couple of years ago. Less surprising are the copyright concerns and questions that swiftly followed. The recent UK...

Rolex wins injunction but no damages against BeckerTime due to laches

Rolex wins injunction but no damages against BeckerTime due to laches

In January 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the US District Court ND Texas’ decision that BeckerTime infringed Rolex’s trademarks but refused to disgorge BeckerTime of its profits after finding that a laches defense applied. The District...

Tesla’s road rage with chicken shop owner

In a recent case, the car giant Tesla Inc. successfully invalidated the mark TESLA CHICKEN & PIZZA. The registration, in the name of Amanj Ali, was registered on 11 August 2020 for food and drink services in Class 43. Ali initially opposed Tesla’s application for...

Thatchers v. Aldi: whose “cider” you on?

Thatchers v. Aldi: whose “cider” you on?

Would you confuse the below cider drinks? This was considered in a recent claim brought by Thatchers regarding its Thatchers Cloudy Lemon Cider against Aldi regarding its Tauras Cloudy Cider Lemon in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. As explained below, Aldi...

INTA to host virtual legal clinic focused on entreprenuHERship

INTA to host virtual legal clinic focused on entreprenuHERship

On Friday, March 8, 2024, at 11 AM EST, the International Trademark Association (INTA) is celebrating International Women’s Day by hosting a virtual legal clinic focused on entreprenuHERship.  This online program is a single-day event, designed like a walk-in legal...

Kat von D in copyright clash over a Miles Davis tattoo

Kat von D in copyright clash over a Miles Davis tattoo

A Los Angeles jury has sided with tattoo artist Kat von D (Drachenberg) in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by photographer Jeffrey Sedlik.  The high-profile case centered around an image that the reality TV star inked onto a friend’s arm, based heavily on...

Mickey Mouse and the case of overlapping IP

Mickey Mouse and the case of overlapping IP

The January 1, 2024 expiration of the 'Steamboat Willie' copyright registration has received a significant amount of attention both in the media and in the legal community. Unfortunately, this attention has often been imprecise and exaggerated, which may lead to a...

Audi defends its emblem against Polish seller

Audi defends its emblem against Polish seller

January provided us with crucial guidelines regarding the referential use of trademarks. Following the Inditex case (C-361/22) the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its long-awaited judgment in the Audi case (C-334/22) responding to the...

More Copyright News

KFC v. HFC: the secret herbs and spices in abbreviation trademarks

KFC v. HFC: the secret herbs and spices in abbreviation trademarks

Can a fast-food business register the trademark HFC for their fried chicken product without infringing on the famous KFC mark? In a win for Grill’d, the Australian Trade Marks Office has said yes, they can.  Grill’d is an Australian burger chain that markets itself as...

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up for their IP rights?

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up for their IP rights?

On December 15, 2023, Grammy Award-winning rapper Eminem filed a protective order opposing a request by 'Real Housewives of Potomac' stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon to be deposed. This is only the latest development in a dispute that has spanned almost a year....

Delhi High Court stops trademark infringement of PUMA

Delhi High Court stops trademark infringement of PUMA

The Delhi High Court has recently passed an exhaustive judgment on trademark infringement by an e-commerce platform. The suit was filed by the well-known brand PUMA against an online marketplace, Indiamart.  PUMA alleged that Indiamart was facilitating the sale of...

The Cambridge name battle: David v. Goliath

The Cambridge name battle: David v. Goliath

Cambridge, known worldwide for its revered 800-year-old institution, the University of Cambridge, has recently been at the center of legal battles and disputes over the use of its name. The University of Cambridge is flexing its legal muscles to safeguard its...

Superdry and Manchester City clash in trademark infringement action

Superdry and Manchester City clash in trademark infringement action

The owner of the Superdry clothing and retail brand has recently launched a trademark infringement action against Manchester City FC, specifically, for the use of the term ‘Super “DRY”’ on its training kit, as part of its Asahi sponsorship deal.  The name of Asahi’s...

Polish e-commerce market leader will not register the mark SMART!

Polish e-commerce market leader will not register the mark SMART!

Does the word “smart” only mean “intelligent”? What is the significance of an exclamation mark as part of a trademark applied for? Can earlier European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) decisions be successfully invoked? These are questions that were raised...

Lights out for Lewis Hamilton in dispute with Swiss watchmaker

Lights out for Lewis Hamilton in dispute with Swiss watchmaker

In this line of work, it’s vital that we do not conflate our personal perception with that of the ‘average consumer’ — a legal concept that serves as a reference point for assessing trademark disputes. For me, there is no better reminder of this than a recent EUIPO...

Dog groomers take their copyright clash to the High Court

Dog groomers take their copyright clash to the High Court

“Wash, Wiggle and Wag” is sadly not the latest TikTok craze. Instead, it’s the name at the center of a dispute between two dog groomers in the West Midlands. Much like the infamous “Wagachristie” case, there’s an accompanying social media “smear” campaign between the...

Vans and Walmart reach settlement over lookalike shoes

Vans and Walmart reach settlement over lookalike shoes

After nearly two years, Vans and Walmart have settled their long-running dispute. This settlement marks the end of a hefty dispute that was filed on 15 November 2021 by Vans against Walmart, Inc., The Doll Maker, LLC, and Trendy Trading, LLC ("the Complaint"). Vans...

Navigating the palate: Thatchers v. Aldi in a trademark dispute

Navigating the palate: Thatchers v. Aldi in a trademark dispute

In the current High Court battle between Thatchers and Aldi, a unique twist unfolds as the judge is invited to partake in a "taste test." The crux of the matter revolves around proving a breach in the trademark, with Thatchers alleging that Aldi's Taurus cider mirrors...

What’s in a name? The tragic tale of The Guess Who

What’s in a name? The tragic tale of The Guess Who

“Almost Famous” is one of my favorite movies. There is a scene where Lester Bangs (played by the amazing Philip Seymour Hoffman) is talking to a radio DJ about her song choices and extolls the virtues of The Guess Who over The Doors. While The Guess Who certainly had...

Stripes in the spotlight: Adidas’ latest trademark clash

Stripes in the spotlight: Adidas’ latest trademark clash

Undeterred by its varying success rates in trademark disputes, Adidas finds itself embroiled in another legal battle. You guessed it – it concerns its iconic three-striped logo once again. The sportswear giant opposed LIV Golf League’s trademark applications for their...

Trader Joe’s has a big bite!

Trader Joe’s has a big bite!

Many who frequent Trader Joe’s to buy groceries feel immediately calmed by the friendly atmosphere and smiling faces of the ever-cheerful employees! One may be easily forgiven for thinking that Trader Joe’s is perpetually conflict-free and yet this assumption would...

Domino’s Pizza wins trademark battle against Dominick Pizza

Domino’s Pizza wins trademark battle against Dominick Pizza

In a landmark ruling, the Delhi High Court has ordered a Ghaziabad India-based pizza outlet to stop using the name "Dominick Pizza" after finding that it infringed on the trademark of multinational pizza giant Domino's Pizza. The Court's decision is a significant...

IP rights & AI: what to take away from a recent Indian decision

IP rights & AI: what to take away from a recent Indian decision

At the present rate, there are roughly two major AI developments per day. Over successive days in September 2023, Open AI announced that Dall-E 3 would be integrated with GPT 4 which is important because it gives the image platform detailed generative abilities based...

Copyright for AI-generated works: the boundaries of human authorship

Copyright for AI-generated works: the boundaries of human authorship

The interplay between technology and law has always been a dynamic field, and it continues to evolve with the emergence of new technologies like generative AI that create new unprecedented challenges. Particularly as AI technology becomes increasingly integrated into...

There’s no “advancetrack” in this trademark dispute!

There’s no “advancetrack” in this trademark dispute!

This is a decision that considers the alleged trademark infringement of “advancetrack” as a keyword in an internet advert campaign.  Judge Tindal reviewed the impact of the EU Withdrawal Agreement in detail, and the likely effect of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and...

Is New Balance off balance in the face of Golden Goose?

Is New Balance off balance in the face of Golden Goose?

Footwear company New Balance recently sued Golden Goose for trademark infringement with respect to its “Dad-Star” sneaker.[1] The complaint alleges that Golden Goose willfully infringed on the common law trade dress rights New Balance has established in its 990...

Knives out between Grubhub and Home Chef

Knives out between Grubhub and Home Chef

Home Chef and Grubhub are battling over their logos, with Home Chef trying to show Grubhub’s trademark application for and use of its new logo should be toast. Home Chef won the first round, obtaining a preliminary injunction against Grubhub, but Grubhub won the...

Twitter Rebrand: What to X-pect

Twitter Rebrand: What to X-pect

We’ve all heard the news by now that Twitter is rebranding to X, and we have seen (and perhaps even taken part in) the buzz around this decision. It has been a few weeks since the announcement, so now that the initial reactions have settled, we would like to consider...

Disemvoweled applications are missing the mark

Disemvoweled applications are missing the mark

Recently, there has been the common opinion that, due to the growing number of registered trademarks, the possibility of registering winning trademarks is limited. Among the tactics devised by the brands to remedy this problem, it has become fashionable to adopt...

Does Mattel own pink?

Does Mattel own pink?

Mattel’s Barbie doll is an icon.  Generations of children have been exposed to this doll, and pop culture acknowledges it as a symbol of fashion, beauty, and female empowerment.  Mattel has spent over half a century connecting Barbie with the color pink, and this...

A false start for the Van Deer – Red Bull sports logo

A false start for the Van Deer – Red Bull sports logo

Based and organized in Switzerland, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is responsible for and setting the International Competition Rules (ICR)[1] and for the Olympic skiing disciplines[2] including alpine ski, cross-country, ski jumping, Nordic...

Fashion face-off: Barbie battles Burberry over BRBY trademark

Fashion face-off: Barbie battles Burberry over BRBY trademark

In a surprising turn of events, Burberry, the renowned British fashion brand, has found itself entangled in a potential legal dispute with Mattel, the maker of the iconic Barbie dolls. It all started when Burberry applied with the US Patent and Trademark Office in...

AI authors – what a US lawsuit could mean for UK IP law

AI authors – what a US lawsuit could mean for UK IP law

In a ground-breaking US lawsuit, authors Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay have sued OpenAI for copyright infringement, accusing the AI company of ‘training’ its language model on ChatGPT using the authors’ copyrighted works without permission. This legal action not only...

Qatar implements the GCC Trademark Law

Qatar implements the GCC Trademark Law

Effective August 10, 2023, and based on Ministerial Decree No. 56 of 2023, Qatar is adopting the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations, replacing its current Trademark Law (Law No. 9 of 2002 with respect to Trademarks, Trade...

UK Government publishes transformation consultation response

UK Government publishes transformation consultation response

The UK government has published its response to the transformation consultation which ran in late 2022 and ended on 6 January this year. The government sought views on a number of changes related to the Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) new digital services, and...

Hands down in BoA case with rejection of emoji application

Hands down in BoA case with rejection of emoji application

The Board of Appeal (BoA) has upheld the EUIPO examiner’s decision to reject EUTM Application No. 18622650 for the contested sign below due to a lack of distinctive character (Article 7(1)(b) EUTMR) for all the services applied for, namely, various financial, real...

Dog toys and whiskey: Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products update

Dog toys and whiskey: Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products update

A recent opinion by the US Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”), held that “when an alleged infringer uses a trademark as a designation of source for the infringer’s own goods, the Rogers test does not apply” and remanded the issue of trademark infringement back to the lower...

Ruffled feathers over alleged Twitter copyright violations

Ruffled feathers over alleged Twitter copyright violations

The recent lawsuit filed by the National Music Publishers on behalf of 17 music publishers against Twitter for alleged copyright infringement should come as no surprise, as Twitter is the largest social media platform that has completely refused to enter into a...

Taste the injunction: unsweet ending for Skittles infringer

Taste the injunction: unsweet ending for Skittles infringer

Candymaker Wrigley and Terphogz, LLC have reached a settlement in a high-profile lawsuit over Terphogz’s use of the mark ZKITTLEZ on cannabis products and other merchandise such as clothing (WM. Wrigley Jr. Co. v. Terphogz, LLC, No. 21-CV-02357 (N.D. Ill. July 3,...

Blink Commerce Private Limited V. Blinkhit Private Limited & Anr

Blink Commerce Private Limited V. Blinkhit Private Limited & Anr

Background In an appeal filed by the instant delivery app, Blinkit (https://blinkit.com/), the Karnataka High Court has set aside the impugned order passed by the Trial Court, wherein the Appellant, Blinkit, was, prima facie, found to be infringing the mark “BLINKHIT”...

The dark side of trademarks: confronting the troll menace

The dark side of trademarks: confronting the troll menace

The global market is currently threatened by trademark trolls. These entities try to exploit legalities to profit from established brands, causing harm to brand reputation and finance. A trademark troll is an entity or individual that maliciously uses or registers a...

Harrods’ reputation surpasses Dubai’s expectations

Harrods’ reputation surpasses Dubai’s expectations

Federal Decree-Law No 36 of 2021 (“Trademarks law”), amply provides for the protection of well-known marks. Article (4)(1), says that if a popularity of a mark has crossed the boundaries of a country where it was registered, any same or similar mark would not be...

IPO launches new, dedicated counter-infringement social channels

IPO launches new, dedicated counter-infringement social channels

As part of their Counter-Infringement Strategy, launched last year, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched new dedicated counter-infringement social channels on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram – with the handle IPO Counter-Infringement (@IPOEnforcment)....

US Supreme Court refocuses the test for transformative use

US Supreme Court refocuses the test for transformative use

The last time the US Supreme Court considered whether a creative work qualifies as a transformative use under the Copyright Act was nearly 30 years ago, in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. In the Campbell decision, the Court stated that the central inquiry of...

Side effects in intellectual property

Side effects in intellectual property

It is commonly known that some foreign companies left Russia following the onset of events in the Ukraine. That led to mass filing of trademark applications reproducing or imitating the brands of the companies that left Russia. That raised concerns among trademark...

TACO TUESDAY: still a trademark or just a Call To Action?

TACO TUESDAY: still a trademark or just a Call To Action?

The phrase “Taco Tuesday” elicits a visceral reaction in foodies and families alike.  What comes to mind when you hear it?  Crunchy or soft tacos?  Queso?  Margaritas?  Does a specific restaurant come to your mind?  If you answered “no” you may be among those that...

Delhi High Court sets out contours of shape mark protection

Delhi High Court sets out contours of shape mark protection

Under the law of trademarks, the threshold for extending exclusive rights to the shape of a product is quite high. The shape by itself should immediately be identifiable with the source of the product. For trademark registration of the shape of a product, the same can...

Muzmatch is no match for Match

Muzmatch is no match for Match

The dating site operator, Match Group, which owns services such as Match.com, Tinder and Hinge, was successful in defending an appeal by online dating service, Muzmatch, of the High Court finding that service Muzmatch had infringed Match's trademarks and passed them...

T-shirt trademark trouble for M&S

T-shirt trademark trouble for M&S

Marks & Spencer (M&S) have made a U-turn after a new product ‘rips off’ the name of a London pub. Founded in 1884, M&S has grown into a household name as the multinational retailer selling a wide range of products including food, homeware, and clothing....

Locations announced for INTA Annual Meeting 2024 and 2026

Locations announced for INTA Annual Meeting 2024 and 2026

International Trademark Association to Head to Atlanta, Georgia for 2024 Annual Meeting  New York, New York—May 17, 2023—The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced today that it will hold its 146th Annual Meeting, the world’s largest event for brand...

Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 – Anxiety and IP

Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 – Anxiety and IP

Last minute deadlines, billing targets, Friday 4pm client’s request, politics, different time zones, networking, taking time off and then coming back to five-hundred unread emails, heavy workload, expected performances, long working hours, school runs, increased...

Copyright claims up in flames: Evans v John Lewis PLC and Another

Copyright claims up in flames: Evans v John Lewis PLC and Another

The hand-down of the judgment in the case of Evans v John Lewis PLC and Another (2023) at the beginning of April caused a flurry of media excitement. The story was an eye-catching one: at its heart was the content of the John Lewis Christmas advert, the release of...

Every Little Helps? Tesco found to infringe Lidl’s trademarks

Every Little Helps? Tesco found to infringe Lidl’s trademarks

Lidl has won its claim for trademark infringement against Tesco concerning the latter's use of a yellow circle within a blue square for its Clubcard Prices scheme. Lidl argued that such use infringed its trademark registrations for a similar logo with and without the...

Trademark tussle: Google LLC v Google Enterprises (P) Ltd.

Trademark tussle: Google LLC v Google Enterprises (P) Ltd.

‘What’s in a name?’ Today – literally everything! Brands contribute immensely to a company’s assets. Companies spend heavily on building their brands and securing statutory protection to safeguard them from infringement and deterring third parties from making...

What to know about The Copyright Office’s new “AI Initiative”

What to know about The Copyright Office’s new “AI Initiative”

The United States Copyright Office recently launched its “Artificial Intelligence Initiative,” set to “examine the copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence.” The initiative comes as a “direct response” to “striking advances in generative AI...

Celebrating World IP Day: thoughts from our Editorial Board

Celebrating World IP Day: thoughts from our Editorial Board

Each year, on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated in a continued effort to raise awareness and understanding of the value IP offers. This year’s focus is ‘Women in IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity’, intended to highlight the incredible...

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