Category: Trademarks
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 […]
The challenge of protecting well-known trademarks beyond the principle of specialty
Can a well-known watch brand prevent the protection of another identical or similar trademark for other types of goods such as cosmetics? The possibility of consumers’ associating the goods of a particular trademark is greater when that mark is well-known. However, relying on the reputation of such trademarks for other goods is not always easy […]
Trademark registration: Banksy laughs last and longest
The EUIPO Board of Appeal has declared the validity of a trademark containing the well known work of the graffiti artist Banksy ‘Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be In Charge’, having deemed that it was not registered in bad faith. In recent years, the EUIPO Cancellation Division has decided to invalidate several trademarks by […]
The EU resolves doubts surrounding the protection of trademarks in relation to NFTs
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has issued its guidelines on the classification of goods and services relating to NFTs, establishing the bases to approach the legal challenges resulting from their registration and the scope of protection afforded to owners. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have come to hold a fundamental place in the digital […]