Trademark Law

You now may file an international trademark registration application for 85 countries right here in the Philippines. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) as of July 25, 2012 is part of the Madrid Protocol. This is an international registration system under World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) wherein one single trademark application can be filed for several countries such as the U.S., European Union, China, Japan and even North Korea.

The undersigned is one many legal professionals that attended the Madrid Protocol Training conducted by the IPOPHIL. See official LIST.

Latest News from the Web

Thrilla is San Jose

In what sure is to be the trial of the century for intellectual property law, Apple and Samsung are fighting over the touch screen tablet. Whoever wins get to rename the next iPhone or Galaxy. See LINK

I wonder what Madonna has to say about this…..

Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of many “Virgin” brands has filed a lawsuit against a clothing denim line claiming rights over the “Virgin” name. I shall not say more.  See LINK

They must rolling in their graves

The great grandsons of the Gucci founder have been barred by the same company from using their surname in competing products. Does anyone know if Louis Vuitton have any grandchildren? See LINK

-------------------------

The material in this online newsletter has been drafted and edited by Atty. Roderick Vera and is for informational purposes only. The material above does not constitute nor become legal advice. Please consult with an attorney for legal advice before relying on any information found on this newsletter. For any questions, inquiries or comments, please see the contact information above.

Intellectual Property Law Updates May 28, 2012

Trademark Law

Latest jurisprudence

Fredco Manufacturing Corp. vs. Harvard University, Cambridge, G.R. No. 185917, June 1, 2011

Harvard Jeans Case

• Even prior registered local trademarks under R.A. 166 (old trademark law), which allowed “squatting” Philippine trademarks (Shangri-La case) to prevail over international trademarks can now be cancelled.
• Trademarks registered under R.A. 166 shall be deemed to have been registered under R.A. 8293 (IP Code of 1998). This means that all the requisites and/or provisions not present in R.A. 166 but present in R.A. 8293 can be invoked for cancellation.
• Even international trademarks not registered in the Philippines have protection under the Paris Convention (IP Treaty)

Latest News from the Web

This is it! And you thought this would never happen

Competing porn sites are now suing for infringement. I dare not say anymore. Site for online article HERE.

 The “G’s” have it.

Gucci has won a trademark infringement case over Guess. There are not enough “Gs” to share in this world. Site for online article HERE.

Downloading illegally or “file sharing” is still BAD!

The United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by a former Boston University student (represented by a Harvard Law Professor) who is set to pay $675,000 (30 songs @$22.5K each) in damages for using Kazaa. Let this be a lesson to all of you. Site for online article HERE.

Google can keep their Android

Google partially won against Oracle after the later sued the former on patent infringement. Oracle claims that the Andriod system is based on the Java technology which was bought by Oracle. 300 million smartphones can’t be wrong. Site for online article HERE.

TV really isn’t free

An online service that sends FREE tv signal to subscribers over the internet is being sued for ILLEGAL FREE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE. Yes, I didn’t know that ILLEGAL and FREE can be used in the same sentence. Site for online article HERE.

-----------------------------------------------
The material in this online newsletter has been drafted and edited by Atty. Roderick Vera for informational purposes only and does not constitute nor become legal advice. Please consult with an attorney for legal advice before relying on any information found on this newsletter. For any questions, inquiries or comments, please see the contact information above.
 

Ideas are protected

Intellectual Property is a branch of law that hardly taught yet extensively exercised in everyday business transactions. Everything around you has been the subject of IP law whether in the past or in the present. Every soda you buy, every gadget you purchase and every movie or television show you have seen is under IP law.

There are three major branches of IP law: Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks. Each is distinct but can be combined in a single product. I will briefly give a layman’s explanation to each branch.

Copyright

Simply put, this is an expression of an idea in an artistic form. The popular examples are songs, movies, and paintings. The core of copyright is the mode of expression and the fixation in a medium. You can think of song or a great painting but unless it is placed in a medium for people to see or feel, it can not be subject to copyright protection. This is the branch that is the easiest to protect, has no discretion for the government for protection and has the longest period of protection.

Patents

This is an expression of an idea or an improvement of an idea placed or manifested in a useful article. The imperative ingredient in patent is that the idea has to have utility. If the idea has no use whatsoever, then it might fall under copyright. This is the hardest branch of intellectual property to qualify for because it involves discretion upon the government body granting the patents. It is the hardest to obtain but ironically, has the shortest span of protection.

Trademarks

This is an expression of an idea to mark goods or services in trade. It is attaching an identity to a product or service. The ultimate purpose of trademarks is to identify the origin of the product. Trademarks are also subject to government discretion as each one has to be distinct from one another.