IP Rights

The presence of brands in the metaverse, depending on the adopted concept, is not a future fact. Brands are already in the metaverse. If the concept of metaverse is debatable, and so is its present existence, it is at least undeniable that approximate realities already exist. In digital spaces such as, among others, “Roblox”, “Fortnite”, “Second Life” and “Descentraland”, it is possible to sell goods and provide digital services.

Madrid hosted the Iberian Legal Summit & Awards on May 19, 2022. Organized by the Leaders League, the event brings together more than 200 professionals from Portugal and Spain in the legal sector, to debate the latest topics on the legal field.

Inventa joined the event being represented by Júlia Alves Coutinho, where she had the opportunity to attend the conferences and to connect with other professionals.

The African economy is losing billions of dollars for not protecting their intellectual property (IP), says Prof. Munashe Furusa, Vice-Chancellor of Africa University, in Zimbabwe. And young inventors are among the most concerned.

The number of inventors from all over the continent that struggle to develop, manufacture, protect and commercialize their inventions, is considerable. Inevitably, it results in an important loss of earnings to the inventors and to the economies.

The creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which includes the implementation of an IP protocol, is expected to solve most of the issues present in many African countries’ IP framework. 

In her new article, published in IP Stars, Vera Albino provides an overview on what the continent’s IP regime could look like, what AfCFTA's contribution to IP rights issues could be and what place could be reserved in the agreement for traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

One of the requirements in Angola for the registration of any IP right through a legal representative is a power of attorney on behalf of the applicant. In cases where the applicants are foreign persons or entities, this document is even mandatory, as they are required to be represented by a local attorney at law, according to article 67 of the Angolan Industrial Property Law (IP Law).

Additionally, for these applicants, it will be required that the power of attorney will be certified at an Angolan consulate or embassy.

This is a new case of applying to register a sound mark which gained notoriety in the news media and, once again, was rejected owing to the absence of a distinctive character – sound marks are eligible for registration, though not all.

Albeit under different arguments, the General Court of the European Union confirmed the decision by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which rejected the application by the company Ardagh Metal Beverage Holdings GmbH & Co. KG.

As per Article 139 of Cape Verde’s Trademark Law, a trademark may consist of a “sign or an arrangement of signs capable of being represented graphically, particularly words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, sounds, the shape of goods or of their packaging, as long as they are capable of distinguishing the products or services of one company from those of other companies”.

Intellectual property

Changes in São Tomé and Príncipe's trademark regime – including a detailed opposition process - came into force in 2017. Below are the key points of the system, including all the major deadlines.

Refusal grounds

A trademark may be refused in opposition proceedings on the following grounds:

Located in the Horn of Africa with a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres and approximately 118 million inhabitants, Ethiopia shares borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan.

The history of the country dates back 2,000 years. From 1973 to around 2000, Ethiopia was plagued by drought, famine, infectious diseases, internal conflict, war and an unstable economy.