The obligation of using plain packaging for tobacco products, i. e. the requirement to remove or substantially reduce the appeal of the brand on the packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products, has generated a lot of public debate, including about the effectiveness of such regulation (see here a summary of the debate in particular […]
Tag Archives | trademark
Plain packaging, trademark protection and Investment Treaties: Get ready!
By Alain Strowel 3 November 2016 0
What can we expect from 2015 in the field of IP and ICT?
By Anna Trzop 18 February 2015 0
Starting from this post I will try to regularly update you, IPdigIT readers, on the latest legislative developments taking place at the EU level in the field of Intellectual Property and ICT. This article should be considered an introduction and an incentive to further follow the blog. Each of the issues briefly described below, deserves […]
‘Parody’ becomes a concept of EU law: something to applaud or to fear?
By Alain Strowel 2 November 2014 29
After the September 3, 2014 decision of the Court of Justice of the EU in Deckmyn v. Vandersteen, the notion of parody is a concept of EU law. Does it mean that the national cultures and laws of the EU Member States are no more competent to define the limits of humor? This would be […]
Positional trademarks – what makes them distinctive?
By Eva-Maria Scholz 19 February 2014 0
According to a definition by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) a trademark “is a distinctive sign which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise”. Trademarks may not only be words, names, letters, and abbreviations, but also drawings, three-dimensional signs, combinations of colours or non visible signs. […]
Steve Jobs: l’icône de la marque Apple
By Alain Strowel 9 February 2014 78
Le film Jobs, sorti en 2013, déroule le parcours biographique du célèbre fondateur de la marque à la pomme, de ses années d’étudiant à la sortie en 2001 de l’iPod qui allait révolutionner l’accès à la musique et à d’autres contenus. (Ashton Kutcher est rentré dans la peau de […]
Does plain packaging violate trademark law or any other right?
By Alain Strowel 22 April 2011 9
On April 7, 2011, the Federal Government of Australia released the plain packaging design (see the image on the side of this post) that cigarette manufacturers will be forced to adopt when a proposed legislation will come into force, possibly on January 1, 2012. All cigarette packets should then use olive green, a colour supposed […]