Trademarks

Algeria implemented new rules concerning renewal of trademark applications. According to the new regulations issued by the Algerian PTO, renewal of trademark applications shall be accompanied by proof of use from in the year preceding the renewal deadline.

IP assets are becoming increasingly more important to companies worldwide and regarding several business activities. The geographic scope of the enforcement of these rights knows no frontiers as companies keep battling it out over IP assets in various countries worldwide.

Fashion: Gucci vs. Guess

Sriracha is a well-known chili-based hot sauce that was made popular in the US by Huy Fong Foods Company, achieving greater consumer success due to its distinctive red bottles with a green cap, its rooster logo and of course…its flavor.

Lionel Messi is currently battling another Portuguese. This time, however, Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the picture, given that this time, Messi is facing a Portuguese wine company, which is unwilling to allow Messi to sell his wine “Leo” in Europe.

In 2010, Leonel Messi has joined the Argentine wine company Bianchi, which union lead to the commercialization of the wine “Leo”. However, upon attempting to sale the wine in Europe, Casa Ermelinda de Freitas stepped in to prevent this situation.

On December the 18th 2014, the Act that governed Industrial Property in Morocco (Act No. 17/97) was amended by the new Industrial Property Law No. 23-13. This new Law came into full force on January the 15th 2015. This transition enhanced Industrial Property rights in Morocco in order to meet current international standards.

The main adjustments introduced into this new law include:

After consultation with the Trademark Public Advisory Committee and authorization by the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act, the United States Patent and Trademark Office proceeded to reduce the official fees required to register trademarks in the US, as of January 17, 2015.

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) has recently addressed the question whether the expression “Je suis Charlie” could be a Community Trade Mark (CTM). Despite OHIM’s general rule of not commenting on individual cases of trade mark applications before or during the registration procedures, the public interest regarding the registration of “Je suis Charlie” as a CTM, lead OHIM to make an exception.

The Lisbon-based Portuguese sports club ‘Sport Lisboa e Benfica’, generally known as ‘Benfica’, or ‘SLB’ by loving fans has recently “scored one for the team” when they successfully opposed a Turkish trademark application made in the name of the club.

Right before the end of 2014, the soft drinks company Coca-Cola filed applications for two new trademarks at the US Patent and Trademark Office that consist of hashtags: #cokecanpics and #smilewithacoke. Hashtags became very popular because of the social network Twitter. Simply consisting of words or short expressions, they allow to easily search published messages about a certain topic.