Trade marks professionals and supporters of the underdog alike are buzzing today over reports of Ikea’s opposition against an application to register the trade mark “Stylkea”. Touted as a ‘David and Goliath’ battle, Ikea is seeking to prevent the use of the ‘-kea’ suffix, on the basis that consumers...
In good news for legitimate brand owners, the China Trademark Law has been amended in an attempt to limit bad-faith trade mark filings. The changes will take effect from 1 November 2019. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China...
In celebration of World Intellectual Property Day, IP Australia recently released the seventh edition of the Australian Intellectual Property (IP) Report. In addition to detailing recent trends and changes in IP activity in Australia, the IP Report included a number of interesting case studies. One case...
Following changes to the Madrid Agreement and Protocol in February of this year, trade mark law has been updated to allow for the division and merger of International Registrations designating New Zealand. Effective from 21 March 2019, applicants for International Registrations which designate New Zealand can...
On 17 June 2019, Canadian trade mark law will undergo significant changes. In addition to Canada becoming designatable under the Madrid Protocol, another major change will be the adoption of the Nice Classification - an international classification of goods and services applied to the registration of...
Amazon recently announced an exciting new anti-counterfeiting program, dubbed Project Zero. Intended to significantly reduce counterfeiting through the use of several user-controlled tools, Project Zero utilizes a suite of automated protections made possible via machine learning, combined with a self-service counterfeit removal tool and a new...
The USPTO recently proposed changes which would force foreign trade mark applicants to engage a US-based attorney, in a bid to limit inaccurate and fraudulent applications by self-filers. The proposed changes, published by way of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) on 15 February 2019, will...
Recently, the European Union requested the New Zealand government register several Geographical Indications as part of a free trade deal. A Geographical Indication (GI) is a name or logo used to identify the origin of goods (usually food or alcohol), as a country or specific region...
At MBIP our attorneys have been working closely with IP Australia for a decade (some even longer) and so we know the ins-and-outs of how the Trade Marks Office works. We appreciate the time Examiners have taken to discuss applications and objections, and we understand that...
You’ve turned a great idea into a product or service and have an amazing logo and business name. Now you’re considering registering a trade mark – wonderful idea! With a trade mark registration, you’ll gain: Protection over your reputation As the owner of a registered trade mark,...