Intellectual Property Law Articles

A new study reveals that over 20 percent of patent filings can now be traced to mobile technology. The findings suggest that the industry may be the future of innovation. The study, authored by consultant Chetan Sharma, examined approximately 7 million patents granted both by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office.

When granting a publisher exclusive rights, the photo - artist does not always lose the right to use individual photos of a series. The Higher Regional Court of Cologne decided with judgement of the 21.12.2011 (File Number 6 U 118/11) in favour of the artist. Though the right of use was transferred to the publishing company by the artist for a certain book project, the publisher cannot forbid the author from using the pictures in the absence of a suitable alternative agreement.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in a 9-0 decision that patent applicants can introduce new evidence when challenging a patent examiner’s rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 145. The Supreme Court clarified that there are no evidentiary bars other than those articulated in the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

This article is dealing with Parallel import of Tommy Hilfiger goods to Israel. The incidents of parallel import are increasing in our country. Many brand names are being imported not only by the exclusive/official importers, but by others as well.

In certain cases it can happen that multiple written warnings about copyright infringements are issued. Due to progressively increasing product piracy and the mounting, protection against intellectual property is more important than ever. Properties with corresponding protection rights can often be applied through a written warning.

In the event that the principal interest of any community trademark more than a federal trademark is in question, then the day of registration is relevant but not the exact time. The actual precise moment of the specific brand registration really should not be taken into consideration.

The higher regional court of Munich (judgment from the 02.07.2012 U K 4842/08) had to decide on the protection of trademarks within the scope of so-called selective distribution systems. In the case at hand, a famous brand wanted to protect its image from unwanted Internet sales. The enterprise for sporting goods considered a ban on so-called "selective distribution systems".

A recent Dutch court decision declared that XS Networks was complicit in copyright infringement after it failed to take down the website for “SumoTorrent” which was hosted on their servers. XS Networks had already been notified that the content on this site was illegal and therefore knew the risks of leaving it in place. This meant that it was liable for the damages caused by the sharing of the illegal content as if it were its own doing.

Trademark registration in Uganda is governed by the Trademarks Act, 2010. The Act provides for among other things; the registration of trademarks, the procedure for and duration of registration, the effect of trademark registration and action for infringement of a trademark, the fees for legal proceedings and appeals and trademark related offences.

When the key concern of a community trademark compared to a national trademark is of question, then the day of registration is applicable, but not the particular time. The actual precise moment of one particular brand name’s enrollment should not be taken into consideration.

Where the priority of the community trademark over a national trademark is in debate, then the day of registration is pertinent and not the exact time. The precise time of the brand registration must not be considered. With the help of a Spanish court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) built a specific ruling on the 22.03.2012 (C - 190/10) that the term "registration day", consistent with article 27 of the Community trademark rules...

The operator of an Internet address has, as a rule, a special interest in the protection of his advertising appearance on the Internet against imitation. However, such a protection, from the copyright law, is guaranteed only up to a certain creation/design point.

As soon as the principal interest of a typical community trademark over a federal trademark is questioned, then the day of registration is relevant and not the exact time. The very time of any brand registration should not be taken into account.

By grant of exclusive rights in favor of a publishing company, a photographer does not lose, in all cases, the right of use for individual photos of a series. The higher regional court of Cologne decided with the judgment of the 21/12/2011 (File number: 6 U 118/11) in favor of the artist.

Discussion of the trademark dilution doctrine and how it has applied in a longstanding case between Starbucks and "Charbucks". Starbucks may have been shaken and stirred after its third trip to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, via two temporary layovers at the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and another one pending over the course of over eleven years.

Explains the controversy surrounding foreign made copyrighted goods under the first sale doctrine and an upcoming Supreme Court case addressing this issue. Attention all sellers of anything that might have a copyright attached to it, including online resellers (Craigslist, eBay, etc.), pawn shops, homeowners holding garage sales and literally anyone selling her legally owned possessions.

Description of the changes in the law relating to granting injunctions in IP cases. In eBay v MercExchange, LLC (547 US 388 (2006)) the Supreme Court held that the traditional equitable factors apply to injunctions in patent cases. This was a sea change in the law involving injunctive relief in patent, copyright and trademark cases.

Explains how LegalZoom has avoided the issue of illegal practice of law in the field of trademark registration. LegalZoom, the giant of the “legal forms” industry, has been under attack on many fronts since 2008 for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) stemming from the vast multitude of services it provides to its customers, such as will preparation, preparing divorce papers, incorporating businesses, and “personalizing” real estate leases.

Whenever the priority of a community trademark over a nationwide trademark is in doubt, then the day of registration is pertinent and never the exact time. The very time of the brand enrollment should not be taken into consideration.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to revisit the issue of whether copyrighted works purchased overseas can be resold in the U.S., without the permission of the copyright owner. The Court previously considered the issue in 2010, but ultimately split 4-4 after Justice Elena Kagan recused herself.

There are many New Zealand trade mark myths and misconceptions. Here are a few that relate to New Zealand.

There are numerous myths and misconceptions about trade marks. Here are some that relate to Australia. Your Australian registered trademark automatically protects your rights overseas: Untrue. Your Australian registration only gives exclusive trademark rights in Australia. If you wish to use your trade mark overseas you must be sure that it does not conflict with an overseas owner's trademark rights.

Australia is a member of the Madrid Protocol – an Australian trade mark owner can apply to register its trade mark in other countries that are also members of the Madrid Protocol in one international trade mark application. A Madrid System application is simpler and cheaper than applying directly to each country for a registered trade mark. However, some countries are not members of the Madrid Protocol so it is necessary to apply directly to their trade mark registries.

The intellectual property and high-tech industries are still trying to figure out what to make of Twitter’s recent patent announcement. The company has stated that it will begin using a new patent assignment agreement it calls the Innovator's Patent Agreement (IPA). Under the new agreement, Twitter agrees that it will not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission.

Where the priority of the community trademark over a national trademark is in debate, then the day of registration is pertinent and not the exact time. The precise time of the brand registration mustn't be considered. With the help of a Spanish court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) built a specific ruling on the 22.03.2012 (C - 190/10) that the term "registration day", consistent with article 27 of the Community trademark rules (GMV)...

This is an article regarding the trademark law in Israel. The Central District Court rejected the lawsuit submitted by the home design center located in Bnei Brak called the "Dan Design Center", against their competitor in Rishon Le'Zion, the "One Design Center".

Have you ever considered whether or not your business could continue without you or your key employees? “Keyman Insurance” is an insurance policy designed to financially protect a business from the effects of prolonged illness or death of important employees of a business. Read this article to find out how your business can benefit from keyman insurance.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently proposed patent fee increases for fiscal year 2013. Although these fee increases generally take place every year, they may particularly harder to swallow given that the current fees reflect a 15% increase that occurred in September 2011, as required by the America Invents Act.

This article deals with copyright law. The copyright law (2007) determines that under circumstances where a copyright breach has been committed, the court is permitted to rule in favor of recompense for the plaintiff without proof of damage, at a sum total not exceeding NIS 100,000, in which case the following must be taken into consideration:

Under a new initiative to distance itself from anything illegal on the internet, Google has updated its search engine to eliminate “The Pirate Bay” results from its auto-complete forms. This site has stood for many years as the Tortuga of the internet, providing what is probably the most comprehensive torrent database on the internet.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation rarely likes to call attention to its ongoing spy tactics. However, the agency recently launched a national campaign designed to draw attention to a growing problem in the United States—economic espionage.

Operating a successful business in Jamaica is difficult. Therefore, protecting your business requires the skillful and balanced use of legal and non-legal advisers at all times. Bottom line, lawyers are indispensable to avoid litigation, wasting time and financial resources, damaged brand, protecting intellectual assets, protection of trade secrets, and governmental fines. Positively, your business could be placed in a position to reap many value enhancing benefits.

Apple Inc. has won at least one round of its trademark battle against Proview Electronics Inc. The two companies are fighting over the rights to the iPad trademark in China, with lawsuits pending in both countries. Here in the U.S., a California judge recently dismissed Proview’s trademark infringement lawsuit.

United States Patent Trademark Office - Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos recently testified before a Congressional committee regarding the implementation of the America Invents Act. Kappos told lawmakers that innovators are "already seeing the benefits of this legislation."

Patents have been the subject of some of the largest industrial claims in worldwide legal history. Only recently, we have seen that a successful patent claim over a good invention can be worth very large sums of money. Regardless, this reality is also open to abuse. In the US, the practice of having “Non-Practicing Entities” (NPE’s) register patents only to use them for legal claims has become a serious issue of concern.

The Madrid Protocol enters into force in Colombia. The domestic PTO and IP law firms get ready for the new procedures. Both foreign and domestic applicants will be greatly benefited by the protocol. Finally, after much anticipation from the national and international IP community, the Madrid Protocol is in force in Colombia. The first South American country to enter the Madrid System and the second in Latin America after Cuba.

According to California labor law, the IRS has developed a checklist to distinguish between an independent contractor vs. full time. Understand this list to avoid any conflict between employee or contractor distinctions.

A Q & A guide to intellectual property law in Switzerland. This Q&A gives an overview of maintaining an IP portfolio, exploiting an IP portfolio through assignment and licensing, taking security over IPRs, IP and M&A transactions, and the impact of IP on key areas such as competition law, employees and tax. This article was first published in the PLC Multi-jurisdictional guide to IP in Business Transactions 2012 and is reproduced with the permission of the publisher, Practical Law Company.

The Higher Regional Court of Cologne recently ruled that if an artist transfers a publishing company the right to publish his/her work in a certain book project (in this case a coffee-table book by photographer Helmut Newton), where there is no express agreement to the contrary, the publishing company cannot prohibit the use of the same images by the artist or by another publishing company (e.g., on the Internet).

For years you’ve admired your top competitor’s ability to design and market new products that have, much to your frustration, consistently outsold yours. Now one of the key members of your competitor’s marketing team is sitting in your office asking YOU for a job. As he describes to you how he thinks he can position your products for triple-digit sales growth, you can’t help but think to yourself, “is this too good to be true?”

An employee non-disclosure/non-competition agreement (NDA/non-compete) is a vital part of any company’s intellectual property protection program. Too often though, companies use the same form agreement for years even though its legal value may have eroded due to changes in the law or changes in the business. The following are some things to consider in determining whether it may be time to update your company’s NDA/non-compete.

Trademarks represent valuable company assets that can be leveraged in the form of a trademark license agreement. Trademark licensing has grown exponentially in the past decade and is no longer just for large corporations. Even smaller or niche-market businesses with recognized products or services can benefit from a trademark licensing program. The advantage of such a program is two-fold...

As your company grows and garners a reputation for quality products and/or outstanding service, its trademarks (or service marks) become more valuable. Most successful businesses recognize the need, first-and-foremost, to protect these valuable assets by registering them with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or with the state(s) in which the company does business. Trademark registration allows the company...

A French court recently fined an individual €150 for pirating two music tracks. A French court recently fined Alain Prevost €150 for pirating two tracks by the artist Rihanna. The irony is that it was actually his wife who had downloaded the tracks without his knowledge. Unfortunately, Prevost found himself targeted by this action because he was the bill payer for the internet connection through which the songs were downloaded.

On May 2, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued its long-awaited recommendation on cyber-surveillance in the workplace (Recommendation nr. 08/2012). This nonbinding recommendation strives to clarify the Belgian rules governing access to the content of electronic communications at work, among other things.

Technology invades almost every aspect of our life and as a result intellectual property rights are valuable and complex. While traditional assets are usually easy to identify, IP assets are not. As an IP litigation attorney, Maria Crimi Speth has seen the problem from all perspectives.

On the 21st August 2012 Pablo Chavez, Google’s public policy director, released a statement saying that software patents, rather than promoting innovation and creativity, are actually stifling it. He further commented that these measures have the effect of harming consumers who have less varied products to choose from on the market. This was after Motorola Mobility, one of Google’s many subsidiaries, sued Apple, demanding an import ban on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

The High Court in the UK recently rejected an appeal made by Michael Toth in regard to his loss of the domain name ‘emirates.co.uk’. Toth, who possessed an extensive portfolio of domains, such as ‘china.co.uk’ and ‘maldives.co.uk’ appealed to the high court stating that his registration of the domain ‘emirates.co.uk’ was not done abusively.

Trademark owners are reminded that any person can apply to the Chinese Trademark Office, to cancel their a trademark registration on the grounds that it has not been used at all for three consecutive years. This article looks at how the relevant provisions of the law in this area is applied in China by the courts, and what can constitute "use" for the purposes of defending any action for cancellation.

Today’s business world has become very global. So it makes sense that more and more litigation involving business would be global as well. Lawyers try to find critical evidence, which can reside outside the boundaries of the U.S. The question often becomes…What do I do next?

Without doubt Malta offers significant opportunities for the generics drugs Industry and the evidence for this lies in the pharmaceutical patenting history of the country and in its legislative framework. The following events have played a major role in the history of patenting in Malta, and have actually shaped the present scenario regarding generic drugs in the country.

“Electronic Arts” (EA), best known for the FIFA series and the recent smash hit series Mass Effect has recently chosen to sue the Facebook media giant “Zynga” for copyright infringement. In the digital gaming industry, also called the video game industry in most parts of the world, the most important asset at one’s disposal is intellectual property. This stands as the basis for a series of successful products whenever a particular franchise takes off – as well as a lot of profit.

On the 11th July 2012, the European Commission presented a draft bill aimed at the elimination of music piracy as well as strengthening copyright protection for music. The main target of this bill is to ensure that companies managing music rights would pay royalties to the artists they represent in a shorter timeframe.

China has the world's largest internet population and by 2015, it may also have the greatest number of online shoppers. New developments in e-commerce bring the issue of intellectual property infringement and the liability of e-commerce operators to light. The E-land v. Taobao case in China removed the defense of the "Safe Harbor Principle" for the first time for online shopping mall operators, and should serve as a grave warning to these operators in China.

I. Getting Started - As a lawyer, or sometime in your life, you have probably heard the saying by Abraham Lincoln: “He who would be his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” (Mr. Lincoln also said “A lawyer’s time is his stock in trade.” a useful motto in our profession. My hometown lawyer had that sign above his receptionist’s desk.) I mention this slogan (the first one) because a common problem that I have with my business-owner clients is that they work beyond their skill set.....

A trademark owner can request the customs authorities, or a civil court, to suspend customs clearance and destroy counterfeit goods. As Cambodia’s manufacturing base is relatively narrow, most infringing goods are imported from abroad. Only clear-cut cases of infringement are amenable to this procedure, as the standard for “counterfeit goods”1 is significantly higher than that used for civil cases.

The conclusion of the latest EU summit held on the 29th June 2012 brought with it a new consensus between the leaders of the Member States in the EU in regard to the idea of having an EU based patent court. The final agreement involved dividing the main functions of the courts between France, Germany and Britain, all of whom have been vying to act as the hosts of this court for a while.

Do I really need a lawyer to do that? Strictly speaking, no. Anyone can apply to register a trademark, although the mark being applied for must satisfy the requirements of the Trademarks Act 2002. Registered trademarks can be valuable intellectual property assets, and can be dealt with in similar ways to other forms of property.

Do I really need a lawyer to do that? Strictly speaking, no. Anyone can apply to register a trademark, although the mark being applied for must satisfy the requirements of the Trademarks Act 1995. Registered trademarks can be valuable intellectual property assets, and can be dealt with in similar ways to other forms of property.

In Australia, there are many benefits to registering your valuable brand as a trademark. Trademark registration gives you the exclusive right to use your registered trademark in a geographical area and in the market for goods and services covered by your registration.

There are many benefits to registering your valuable brand as a New Zealand trademark. Trademark registration gives you the exclusive right to use your registered trademark in a geographical area and in the market for goods and services covered by your registration. A registered trademark gives you the exclusive right to license other people to use your trademark (and pay you a fee).

We frequently find that our clients are unaware of the actual scope and value of their intellectual property assets. A great deal of valuable intellectual property can be hidden in a business. The true value of intellectual property is often only appreciated when it is stolen, or infringed by rivals.

Are you a potential franchisee or even a current franchisee? Do you really need a franchise lawyer? That depends on your experience and appetite for risk. We say “yes” and we are biased, but that bias is based on considerable franchising experience gained over many years.

Regulation of social media from a global prospective. Jan Dhont comments on transatlantic differences. Social media policies attempt to grapple with the impact that employee conduct online may have on the reputation, business interests, and legal obligations of an organization. They do this by guiding employees on appropriate online behavior and prohibiting certain conduct.

The huge publicity of the trademark disputes in China relating to the mark “iPad” associated with Apple Inc (“Apple”) has aroused tremendous public interest and increased awareness in the protection of intellectual property rights like brand names and trademarks in this part of the world. The background relating to Apple’s acquisition of the “iPad” mark worldwide is a fairly typical one and the ongoing dispute between the parties are discussed below.

“Administrative sanctions, in contrast to criminal sanctions, are limited to fines, so it is vital that fines are large enough to deter infringing behavior.” The control exercised by the administration in relation to the improper use of registered trademarks is very important, because it is a key component in the regulation and inspection of the proper operation of the market.

“This makes it impossible to start counting the three years of non-use of the mark in order to request its cancellation, and therefore the trademark is effectively removed from the market.” This article considers the criteria used by the Peruvian trademark office to resolve cancellation for non-use of trademarks.

After over 40 years of helping maritime workers, our firm has observed what it takes to get and keep an offshore job. If you are looking to tap into the oil and gas industry, then the following information may be helpful.

The success of franchises in Panama is based on the trust and smooth communication of the parties and the enterprise will of the franchisee, as well as the professional administration of the franchiser.

The Indian Patent office has published public notice CG/ Public Notice/ PO/2012/15 dated July 2, 2012, whereby the Patent office has simplified process of filing of PCT national phase Applications in India. These instructions would come into force from July 6, 2012 and would do away the redundant process of filing multiple documents that are invariably available on records of the IB of WIPO.

Since the protector and tutelary nature and other related-rights granted by registered marks to their holders, is logical to think to enjoy their prerogatives is needed to comply with several objectives requirements, that is, the mark must have several formalities to be admitted as such.

One of the hottest topics in IP nowadays is the potential trademark infringement when trademarks are used as keywords in search engines. The issue arises when search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo! offer the possibility of ‘buying’ trademarks as keywords for showing sponsored results next to their search results.

On Friday 22nd of June 2012 we received Mr. Mark Davis, president and CEO of the Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors – PIIPA -, at B&R Latin America’s headquarters in Bogotá. Mr. Davis is visiting Colombia to launch PIIPA’s latest project: “Enhancing Opportunities in the Canadian Market for Innovative High-Value Colombian Agricultural Products”

Overview of trademark registration in Dominican Republic. Legal framework for trademark registration is based in law 20-00, Paris Convention ( 20 march 1883, including revision September 1979), Nice Convention, Chapter 15th of DR-CAFTA . According to our law, trademark registration provide exclusive rights for the use of trademark.

Like Rodney Dangerfield, Non-Disclosure Agreements (“NDAs”) often get no respect. Business persons may plunge into negotiations, revealing confidential information with no agreement in place, or Legal may issue the same form agreement in every case, as if one-size-fits-all. Well, like any contract, the NDA can provide vital protection, but should be drafted with care. Here are 10 tips to consider.

I. General Standard - With some exceptions, the general legal standard of care for business actors and agents is “prudence.” In this context “prudence” means to act as an ordinary prudent person would act under the circumstances. But, this standard can be misleading because, at law, prudent people arguably do not make common mistakes, like combing their hair or changing the radio dial while driving, let alone sending texts.....

Mexico is about to be part of the Madrid Protocol, however there are different sectors do not agree with the incorporation of Mexico within this international treaty.

In selecting a law firm for an owner-operated small or medium sized business (aka “SMB’s”), we can start with some basic positions: 1. The law firm client is well advised to choose a lawyer, not a firm. Lawyers vary in aptitude, knowledge and experience in various practice areas, just as other businesses do. So, obviously, you need an attorney who actually practices business law.

Due to high level of content copied without website's permission, Google offers the opportunity to have the replica removed from its search listings. From a legal perspective, this is done through the enforcement of copyright. Copyright laws practically everywhere in the world provide for this sort of situation and have now allowed companies like Google to give copyright owners their due by ensuring that these infringing websites are not found through the search engine.

In litigation that already has lasted nearly twice as long as the war itself, volleys are still being fired over the copyright for a portion of the memorial to a war that ended in armistice and not peace. On May 14, 2012, Gaylord v. United States was remanded by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to the U. S. Court of Federal Claims for another shot at determining the amount of damages, the fifth courthouse battle in this protracted campaign.

Can a company that does business only in Asia, with all of its manufacturing, sales and deliveries taking place there pursuant to contracts signed in Asia, be held liable for infringement under the U.S. Patent Act? Yes, quite possibly, as explained in this article by an international technology attorney based in Taipei, Taiwan.

One encounters indemnification provisions so often in so many diverse agreements that it’s almost tempting to regard them as routine boilerplate. To do so would be a big mistake. This article provides valuable tips for negotiating and drafting appropriate contract language. The article was produced by the International Technology Law Blog, a publication of Asia Law, a firm of international attorneys based in Taipei, Taiwan that provides legal services for companies doing business in Asia.

This question comes from a lawsuit filed against Yves Saint Laurent America, Inc. by Christian Louboutin. Louboutin is a French shoe designer who is very well known for his collections of women’s high heel shoes with bright red out soles. Most women are familiar with the red soled shoes, and associate the color with the designer. The red soles have become a status symbol, a sign of luxury and wealth.

In a recent ruling, a Finnish District Court held that when an act of copyright infringement takes place through the use of a person’s open Wi-Fi network, by somebody other than the owner of the network, that same owner cannot be held liable for the infringing acts. The case was brought by the Finnish Anti-Piracy Centre, a coalition of intellectual property right holders. They collectively sued a woman who owned the network for €6,000.

With discussions on ACTA slowly reaching a point, a group of MEP’s known as the European Pirate Party (EPP) recently also issued their stance in regard to the trade agreement. In reply to the controversies that arose over the last months, the EPP released a 107 page eBook entitled ‘The Case for Copyright Reform’. The scope of this eBook is to make clear the EPP’s vision regarding the reconciliation of copyright protection and the widespread reality of digital sharing through the internet.

Patent licensing demands can be extremely costly to resolve, often running into millions of dollars. Fortunately, when handled skillfully, in-house counsel should be able to successfully dispose of most licensing demands at little or no cost, without the need for licensing or litigation.

Colombia is the first Latin American emerging country to ratify the Protocol on the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks of 1989. The Constitutional Court of Colombia has recently declared the conformity of the law No. 1455 of 2011 with the Constitution. Such law ratified the Protocol and provided a new procedure for trademark owners to protect their trademarks in Colombia’s emerging market.

Since 2008 the intellectual property market has witnessed an impressive surge in the green patents sector, which has been largely influenced by concerns about climate change, the energy crisis, the increasing pollution of the air and seas, and the failure of the Copenhagen summit on climate change of 2009. Latin America is just catching up with this global trend, providing a unique opportunity for investors looking for both profit and meaningful investments for solving current global issues.

Broadband is a game changing development and policy-makers are still in “catch-up” mode. Legislatures and courts have so far taken a fairly traditional approach to dealing with the protection of online copyright works. Ultimately, it is expected that creative creators will continue to think outside the square to develop new business models – and that this group will manage to stay “ahead of the curve” when it comes to generating value (and new revenue streams) from their creative efforts.

Transborder data flows are a significant concern for those interested and involved in cyber-security and information privacy. The issue is given particular focus in the context of cloud computing. A key new source of risk for users on cloud computing services is that associated with the storage of data and the execution of transactions in foreign jurisdictions. This whitepaper examines government and industry responses to cross-border data flows in the context of cloud computing.

Inadequate data security leaves businesses open to significant damage and embarrassment. Whilst data security is a key concern for any business when it considers the use of its IT resources, businesses that operate within, or are seeking to operate within, the cloud need to be particularly attuned to the increased risks and dilemmas that cloud computing poses for their data security. - Data Security in the Cloud - A Whitepaper by Nicholls Legal

The adequate protection of the privacy of personal and sensitive data has proved to be one of the key concerns that has emerged in the area of cloud computing. Adequate protection of privacy intersects with many other issues affecting cloud computing, including data security, jurisdictional concerns and contractual issues. Cloud Computing and Privacy - A Whitepaper by Nicholls Legal

The UK's Company Names Tribunal deals with objections by brand holders to the bad faith or opportunistic registration of company names. Consideration of the emerging body of CNT decisions highlights the importance to brand protection of a combination of a company name watch service and a readiness to deal with any abusive registration by a speedy, and appropriate, application for an order.

Copyright is a right granted to the creator of an original work to exclusive use of that work for a period of time limited by law. In Cyprus copyright is governed by the Copyright Section of the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver. The governing laws are: N.63/77, N.18(I)/93, N.54(I)/99, N.12 (I)/2001, N.128 (I)/2002, N.128 (i) 2004 and N.123 (I) 2006.

A patent is a right to ownership of an invention granted to the inventor by the government. It allows the patent owner exclusive use of (and the right to license out use of) the invention in return for revealing it to the public domain.

The logo, symbol or design of a company is a commodity that serves to distinguish the goods or services of one company from those of its competitors. Once created, a trademark can be registered and will enjoy an initial seven-year period of protection from the date of filing of the application, which is renewable every fourteen years thereafter.

In a decision filed on April 10, 2012, the Ninth Circuit in United States of America v. Nosal, No. 10-10038 (9th Cir. 2012), put itself squarely in conflict with the Fifth, Eleventh and Seventh Circuits.

A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator that is used by a business or an individual to distinguish his goods or services from others on the market. The trademark will be unique to that business or individual and will serve to identify the source of the goods and services. A trademark may consist of: words; signs; symbols; logos; pictures; shapes; colours; letters; phrases; designs and images or a combination of such elements.

Under the majority “American Rule,” parties are generally required to bear their own attorney’s fees in civil cases. For over 100 years, however, Texas has been in the minority that allows courts to award attorney’s fees to prevailing parties for certain claims, such as for breach of oral or written contracts.

The registration process begins filing an application before the Venezuela Trademark and Patent SAPI , after in obout one month, the Trademark and Patent Office will make a preliminary examination to verify if the application complies with the formal requirements. Whether the application is in order its publication in the Intellectual Property Gazette, otherwise it will make an observation.