IP Review
IP Review is a monthly round-up of what's going on in the world of IP, reporting on news regarding trademarks, patents, copyright, design rights and other forms of intellectual property from publications the world over.
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News Archive29 July: Cristal defeats Cristalino
Champagne Louis Roederer, maker of Cristal, has won its trademark dispute against J. Garcia Carrion's Cristalino brand, forcing Carrion to rebrand Cristalino as 'Jaume Serra Cristalino', adding a disclaimer and changing the lettering and colours used.
Business Week
29 July: Harry Potter copyright claim "fanciful"
The High Court has been told the allegations brought by the estate of Mr Jcobs, author of The Adventures of Willy the Wizard, which claim JK Rowling infringed its copyright, have been accused of being ‘fanciful’ and ‘absurd’ by John Baldwin QC, representing Bloomsbury and Ms Rowling.
Telegraph
29 July: Anheuser-Busch InBev loses Budweiser name case
The ECJ has ruled that Anheuser-Busch InBev does not have exclusive rights to the Budweiser name, following a 14 year battle. Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar has exclusive rights to the name in Germany and it is shared by the two groups in most other European countries.
BBC
28 July: How to increase copyright value from $45 to $200m
Painter Mr Norsigian purchased 65 photographic negatives in 2000 for $45 and now, having been authenticated as being the work of Ansel Adams (which the estate is disputing), they are worth $200m, it is claimed.
BBC
27 July: Monster claim
Owners of the Godzilla trademark claim manufacturers of the Tuffzilla dog chew toys infringe on its copyrights, by using the suffix ‘zilla’ and related descriptions associated with the Godzilla story.
Courthouse News
26 July: FTSE 100 company uses brand to fill pension deficit
A FTSE 100 company has used brand valuation specialists Intangible Business to help it price contingent assets to fill a pension funding gap.
Pensions Week
22 July: Can jokes be copyrighted?
Comedian Keith Chegwin has been attacked by fellow comedians for allegedly stealing other people’s jokes and using them on his Twitter account. But does this constitute copyright infringement?
BBC
22 July: Barbie vs Bratz decision reversed
The US appeal court has reversed Mattel’s rights to £100m of MGA’s Bratz products, ruling that “It is not equitable to transfer this billion-dollar brand, the value of which is overwhelmingly the result of MGA’s legitimate efforts, because it may have started with two misappropriated names.”
Wall Street Journal
21 July: 10-year old hit by Chaplin copyright threat
Bethany Hare, a 10-year old from Yorkshire, has been hit by a copyright infringement claim by the estate of Charlie Chaplin, following Bethany’s use of Chaplin’s song Smile in an internet video used to raise money for charity. She is being asked to pay $2,200 plus $280 every time she performs it live.
9 News
14 July: Dairy pays $270k for image right claim
Lindahals, a Swedish dairy, has paid a Greek man $270,000 for using his image on their Turkish yoghurt product for eight years without the man’s permission.
The Local
13 July: eBay sued for patent infringement
eBay is being sued for $3.8bn by XPRT Ventures over allegations the online auctioneer is infringing six patents used to develop payment systems such as PayPal.
Reuters
13 July: Fake vodka gang imprisoned
Southwark Crown Court has sentenced a gang responsible for the counterfeit production of brands such as Smirnoff and Kirov, avoiding £10m of tax, for 57 years.
Mirror
12 July: Virgin’s trademark conflict
Richard Branson’s British Virgin Group, 26 percent shareholder in Australia’s Virgin Blue airline, is objecting to the airline’s attempts to own the Virgin brand causing its delayed relaunch.
Sydney Morning Herald
12 July: Lleyton Hewitt fails to register ‘come-on’ trademark
Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt has failed to register his familiar ‘come-on’ cry as a trademark following its existing registration by an Australian father.
Herald Sun
10 July: Best Buy trademark threat
American electronics retailer Best Buy has been hit by a potential trademark dispute by Worldwide Sales Corporation which claims it owns the Best Buy trademark in Europe and has asked Best Buy to cease and desist using it.
Daily Mail
08 July: Disney pays $269m in unpaid royalties
Following a successful challenge by the creators of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Disney has been ordered to pay out $269m in unpaid royalties.
Guardian
08 July: Ocado licenses IP to expand
Ocado, the online grocer, is set to expand overseas by licensing its IP rights, including its software, to overseas retailers including Carrefour.
The Independent
08 July: Portakabin loses AdWords dispute
The European Court of Justice has ruled Primakabin’s use of key word advertising using words including and similar to competitor Portakabin, such as portacabin and portokabin does not constitute trademark infringement. Click to view judgments here.
The Inquirer
06 July: Zappa trademark declared invalid
A German court has ruled that the Zappa trademark, owned by rocker Frank Zappa’s widow, is now invalid due to lack of commercial use, enabling the Zappanale festival to continue using the name.
The Register
06 July: Men At Work to pay copyright damages
Sydney’s Federal Court has ordered pop group Men at Work to pay 5 percent of royalties received from their hit song Down Under as damages, following Larrikin Music’s successful copyright infringement claim.
Telegraph
06 July: George Clooney’s reputation case
George Clooney is expected to provide evidence in an Italian court following the allegation that his name and reputation were wrongly used to promote a fashion show and clothing line.
Telegraph
05 July: Puma buys its trademark
Following arbitration, Puma is ordered to pay 98m euros to its former Spanish licensee, Estudio 200, to regain control of its Puma trademark in the region.
Fibre2fashion
02 July: Formula One removes F1 drink
Formula One has succeeded in its trademark infringement claim against Singaporean Speed Drinks Pte which has agreed to stop selling and destroy all cans of its F1 Racing Energy Drink as it infringes the F1 trademark.
Business Week
02 July: Golden Balls trademark win
Owners of the Golden Balls trademark have won the trademark infringement dispute brought against them by organisers of the Ballon D’Or, the European Footballer of The Year Award, following a ruling by the European Patent Office.
Telegraph
01 July: Diageo uses whisky to plug pension deficit
Diageo has provided 2.5m whisky barrels to act as collateral to its pension fund to tackle its £862m deficit, generating £25m a year over the term of the partnership. But if the trademarks are not included, this could significantly undermine the asset value. No mention of the brands is made.
Reuters
01 July: Village People star settles copyright dispute
Former Village People star, Victor Willis, has settled his copyright dispute with Hallmark for an undisclosed fee, following its unauthorised use of songs including Y.M.C.A. and Macho Man.
PeaceFM
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