Category: Trademarks
Cultural appropriation: are there legal mechanisms to stop this from an intellectual property standpoint?
Trying to provide effective, balanced and adequate protection of traditional cultural expressions and recognizing the intellectual property rights that local communities and indigenous peoples hold with regard to those expressions pose a real challenge in legal terms. It is common knowledge that using a trademark, a patent or a design of another business may cause […]
Shape up your mark: the intricacies of protecting the appearance of a product as a trademark
Is your product different? Does it have a unique shape that sets it apart from competitors? If so, perhaps you want to think about protecting that particular shape as a trademark. It is an effective strategy for companies that want to stand out in a saturated market. Although the procedure to register a product’s shape […]
How do you register an international trademark?
The Madrid System to register international trademarks is governed by the Madrid Agreement (1891) and the Madrid Protocol (1989) and is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) located in Geneva, Switzerland. This system offers the owner of a trademark in one of the member States the possibility of extending protection of the mark to […]
Counterattacks in procedures for the declaration of invalidity of a trademark before the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office
Since January 14, the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office (SPTO) has been responsible for hearing applications for invalidity and revocation of trademarks. We take a look at the biggest risk faced by applicants seeking invalidity of a trademark on relative grounds. The SPTO has the power to declare the signs invalid where it considers that […]
Morcilla de Burgos: Can Protected Geographical Indications and collective trademarks coexist?
Both Designations of Origin (DO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) are essential to ensure that the goods that they protect comply with strict quality criteria and come from a specific geographic location. In addition, collective trademarks identify goods or services of members of their association with respect to third parties. However, can the two coexist? […]
10 key aspects of applying for a declaration of invalidity or the revocation of trademarks and trade names at the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office
As from January 14, the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office (SPTO) will, for the first time, assume the task of determining whether a trademark is invalid or must be revoked. As from this coming January 14, claims requesting a declaration of invalidity or the revocation of a Spanish trademark (or Spanish trade name) must be […]