Faced with accusations that they infringed Earth, Wind & Fire’s name, a “legacy” band has made a bold counter-argument. A tribute band that was sued by Earth, Wind & Fire for trademark infringement is firing back with a bold counterargument: That the famed R&B act has actually abandoned any intellectual property rights to its name. In a court filing on Wednesday (Aug. 30), the smaller band — which calls itself Earth Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion — argued that the original group had allowed so many tribute bands to use its name without repercussion that it can no longer claim exclusive rights to it.
UKIPO launches new digital services for trade marks
In July, the government concluded its first transformation consultation. The new consultation focuses on specific trade marks and designs issues, but also includes some proposals on patents and tribunals.
New online document inspection service The government is proposing to introduce a new digital service that will allow the public to view documents relating to trade mark and design applications online for the first time. This will remove the archaic requirement for members of the public to attend the IPO’s offices in person or order copies of documents to view this information. This proposal will make it easier for the public to access information about IP. (from UKIPO’s website)
(2023.9.13追記)
The UKIPO transformation programme The UKIPO launched a transformation programme to modernise their trade mark and design services by the end of 2025. The aim is to replace their existing processes
Twitter is an SNS that has been used by administrative agencies for public relations and disaster prevention information transmission. Although the name of the service has changed to X, the official website of the central ministries still retains the “blue bird” logo from the Twitter days.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s end-of-term decision in Abitron v. Hetronic seems to have created more questions than answers about U.S. brand owners’ ability to leverage the federal Lanham Act in global trademark disputes. In the few weeks since the Court issued its opinion, parties and courts alike are already struggling with exactly how to apply it.
In the waning days of its most recent term, the Supreme Court decided Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., a case about international enforcement of the Lanham Act. While Abitron grabbed fewer headlines than the Court’s other, more controversial late-June decisions, it is important for U.S. businesses that may litigate trademark or false advertising cases with foreign or international facts.
