ILN IP Insider

…Never let me go…
I’ll be yours through all the years,
till the end of time.

[Love Me Tender, performed by Elvis Presley]

Elvis sightings have had a long, storied life of their own since the King of Rock-and-Roll’s “death” was reported (or perhaps exaggerated (though neither greatly nor grossly)), in 1977.  Indeed, since 1977, it has been claimed that Mr. Presley had an uncredited appearance in the movie Home Alone in 1990, that Elvis sweetly inspired healing miracles before 1977, and that since 1977 his miracles have included pedestrian healings as well as more impressive feats such resurrection and reincarnation.  Were those sorts of things, or more mundane media mentions, not themselves sufficient post-mortem publicity to keep the King in our thoughts, a New Jersey federal district court, in Estate of Elvis Presley v. Russen, 513 F. Supp. 1339, 1344 and 1355 (D.N.J. 1981), said that “On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died,” purportedly, “but his legend and worldwide popularity have survived…” and “Elvis Presley’s right of publicity survived his death and became part of Presley’s estate.”  TCB in a flash, or, for the uninitiated, just a way of taking care of the business of personal musical empire.

With the development of science and technology, cameras or mobile phones are now having various built-in shooting modes or parameters to facilitate photographers to quickly shoot assorted scenes or atmospheres, which is quite different from the traditional way that photographers need to adjust various parameters by themselves. Regarding whether the photographic works taken using the built-in shooting modes or parameters of the camera or mobile phone meets the requirements of the Copyright Act for “creativeness (originality)”, the Intellectual Property Court adopted positive opinions both in the Min-Zhu-Shang-Zi No. 2 Judgment rendered on October 22, 2020, and the Min-Zhu-Shang-Yi-Zi No. 15 Judgment on October 29, 2020.

Suppose that you want to federally register a trademark that has a domain indicator like “.com” at the end that identifies a source of goods or services related to your business.  The trademark may have a first part that is generic like “automobile” and a second part that is a domain indicator like “.com”.  Should you attempt to register your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)?  Can you obtain a registration from the USPTO?  The answer to both questions is YES!

Social media continues to offer an invaluable platform for natural products brands to engage and expand their customer base. In these times, consumers are using social media more and more—particularly on their mobile devices—to stay informed, explore new products, and shop.

This rapt audience allows brands to provide authentic and of-the-moment communications to their customers, develop brand ethos and drive sales. But, even with all the benefits of social media, just one misstep on intellectual property can have significant repercussions.

Law 2121/1993 on Copyright, Related Rights and Cultural Matters (the Copyright Law) does not provide for a fair use or fair dealing defence.(1)

Nevertheless – and in compliance with the EU Information Society Directive (2001/29/EC) – the Copyright Law contains an exhaustive list of specific statutory exceptions and limitations on authors’ economic rights.

The tragic killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery this year, among others, have reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement, resulting in powerful nationwide conversations about racial injustice in the United States, with far-reaching ripple effects. Businesses across industries — such as sports, entertainment, consumer products and higher education — have reevaluated certain aspects of their legacy brands and have announced that they will discontinue the use of names, trademarks and logos with racist origins.

Introduction

In March 2020 – during the lockdown imposed by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic – Greece adopted a new Trademark Law (4679/2020), which replaced the previous Trademark Law (4072/2012). The purpose of adopting this new law was to implement the EU Trademarks Directive (2015/2436/EC) into Greek law.

By virtue of this new law, the Greek trademark regime is now largely similar to that of the European Union. The new Greek Trademark Law essentially follows EU Trademark Regulation (2017/1001), rendering the Greek legal system more familiar and friendly to foreign entities, many of which are already acquainted with the EU framework.

Personal data (PD) protection is becoming the main topic of the recent days, so the Russian legislation in this sphere changes rapidly. The article represents an overview of updates on personal data regulation for the 3rd quarter of 2020.

ATTEMPTS TO COUNTER THE CONSUMERS’ PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION

Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights has developed amendments to the Law of 07.02.1992 No. 2300-1 “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, hindering unfair behavior of business entities, which collect customers’ PD for purposes not related to the conclusion and execution of contracts.

The Supreme Court of Canada has denied leave to appeal of the Ontario (Energy) v Quality Program Services Inc.¹ Federal Court decision, thereby bringing finality to whether public authorities are immune to trademark infringement claims arising from use of their official marks. This Federal Court case law confirms that registered trademark owners will continue to enjoy the rights conferred upon them under the Trademarks Act (the “Act“), regardless of whether a public authority is involved and suggests that the strength of an official mark is greatly dependant on when public notice is given.

Quality Program Services Inc. (“QPS“) brought a Federal Court action against the Government of Ontario, specifically the Minister of Energy (the “MOE“), seeking damages and other relief for trademark infringement, passing off and depreciation of goodwill under the Act. QPS is the registered owner of the “EMPOWER ME” trademark, registered in 2014 in association with energy awareness, conservation, and efficiency services.² In 2015, QPS became aware that the MOE had launched a website with the name/mark “emPOWERme” to educate Ontario residents about the province’s electricity system.³