Google: a battle of words
Whether Google plays a passive or an active role when offering its AdWords service is a continuing debate, as Marie-Emmanuelle Haas of Me Haas and Tobias Malte Müller of Wirsing Hass Zoller explain.
Seasonal woes for brand owners
Unscrupulous shoppers and brand exploiters are part of a toxic mix that allows the online counterfeit trade to thrive, and to make matters worse, IP laws in different countries are not as flexible as the fakers when it comes to fighting counterfeits. TBO reports.
’Tis the season to be careful
As the big brands wheel out their annual yuletide advertising campaigns, TBO investigates the potential IP pitfalls they may encounter.
Anti-counterfeiting: the buck stops at ISPs
In a landmark decision, Cartier has become the first company to obtain a UK injunction against ISPs based on trademark infringement grounds. TBO reports.
Harmless fun? Parody campaigns online
Some activists have taken to impersonating companies online by creating false websites and identities. At what point does a bit of fun become an actionable legal issue, and what can targeted companies do to defend themselves? TBO finds out.
Viral marketing: out in the cold
An online campaign can take off and be all over the world in a very short time, so what factors should be considered when thinking about protecting IP? TBO investigates.
Bridging the digital divide
The wider access to smartphones of people in developing economies is going to cause a further explosion in the use of the internet, and brand owners—and ICANN—need to stay on the case, argues Ben Crawford of CentralNic.
IP on the silver screen
The awkward question of whether individual performances on film can be copyrighted is set to be decided by the US Ninth Circuit. TBO reports.
Wyke Farms: a lasting impression
Making an enduring impression in the notoriously short-lived world of social media is arguably behind the success of Wyke Farms’s now-trademarked ‘Free Cheese Fridays’ campaign. TBO examines the implications for protecting the cheese maker’s IP.
ICANN: the year ahead for the IPC
ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency expects to be tracking several key developments in 2015, including gTLD rights protection measures and Whois accuracy. The group’s president Kristina Rosette gives a preview of the likely workload in 2015.
