Category

Intellectual Property

No Free Rides on Reputed Marks: The CJEU’s Balancing Act Between Trademark Rights and Political Expression in Inter IKEA Systems v Vlaams Belang Intellectual Property

No Free Rides on Reputed Marks: The CJEU’s Balancing Act Between Trademark Rights and Political Expression in Inter IKEA Systems v Vlaams Belang

On the 8th of May 2023, a Belgian court, the Nederlandstalige ondernemingsrechtbank Brussel , referred a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-298/23 Inter IKEA Systems BV v Vlaams Belang, raising an important issue at the intersection of trademark law and freedom of expression. The dispute concerned the use of the well-known IKEA trademark by the Belgian political party Vlaams Belang in connection with its proposals for immigration and asylum reform. The party promoted its programme under the title ‘IKEA-PLAN’, with the acronym standing for ‘Immigratie Kan Echt Anders’ (‘Immigration Really Can Be Different’).…
Antoine Camilleri and Emily De Brincat
11th September 2026
Ghosts of Directives Past Intellectual PropertyNews

Ghosts of Directives Past

An article authored by Timothy Spiteri from the IP and anti-counterfeiting department at Mamo TCV has been featured in the leading IP law blog, IPKat. The article discusses the intertemporal application of the Trade Mark Directives within the context of a trademark invalidity action before the First Hall of the Civil Court in Malta. The case instituted by Rothmans of Pall Mall Limited against BR International Holdings Inc., was dismissed by the Court on the basis that it was filed under the wrong law.  Read the full article here. This document does not purport to give legal, financial or tax…
Mamo TCV Advocates
9th December 2025
AI Act’s Impact on Businesses Operating Within the EU
AI Laws of the World: Mamo TCV Contributes to the First Edition of DLA Piper’s Comparative Guide Data Protection and PrivacyFinTechIntellectual PropertyNewsTelecoms, Media & Technology

AI Laws of the World: Mamo TCV Contributes to the First Edition of DLA Piper’s Comparative Guide

DLA Piper’s recently published ‘AI Laws of the World’ guide provides a 2025 Q3 snapshot of AI laws and proposed regulations across more than 40 countries (including all 27 EU Member States), highlighting key legislative developments, regulations, proposed bills, and guidelines issued by governmental bodies. The guide also includes a contribution made by Mamo TCV Advocates which illustrates the legal position in Malta. The guide underscores significant geographical variation in regulatory approaches and attitudes, yet also reveals numerous common concerns, with lawmakers and AI-focused organisations worldwide adopting and exchanging a variety of strategies. Whilst some jurisdictions have established their own…
Mamo TCV Advocates
26th August 2025
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DORA ICT Subcontracting RTS Published DORAIntellectual PropertyTelecoms, Media & Technology

DORA ICT Subcontracting RTS Published

Following the European Commission’s earlier rejection, the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on ICT Subcontracting have been published in the EU Official Journal on 2 July 2025. The RTS will enter into force 20 days after publication, which means that they will come into effect on 22 July 2025. Financial entities and ICT providers must ensure to update their contractual arrangements to fulfil the conditions set out in the RTS to ensure compliance by 22 July 2025. To receive updates on this important development and related news please visit our website and consider subscribing to our newsletter. This document does not purport…
Mamo TCV Advocates
3rd July 2025
Unlock Funding Opportunities for Your SME: EU Renews IP Grant
Unlock Funding Opportunities for Your SME: EU Renews IP Grant Intellectual PropertyNews

Unlock Funding Opportunities for Your SME: EU Renews IP Grant

Following the successful uptake of a similar initiative in 2022, the European Commission has re-launched its fund to support small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) in safeguarding their intellectual property assets. The scheme, which will run from 23 January 2023 until 8 December 2023, will enable SMEs established in the European Union to recover up to 75% of eligible fees incurred in connection with trademark and design applications, at both EU and national level, up to a maximum of €1,000. This is welcome news, since it is estimated that over 99% of all businesses in the EU are SMEs and is…
Mamo TCV Advocates
31st January 2023
Close up of monitor with graph showing fund performance
The Rise (and Fall) of NFTs from an IP Perspective Intellectual Property

The Rise (and Fall) of NFTs from an IP Perspective

While their advent was initially hailed as a revolution for the creative industries, non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) appear to have lost significant steam over the past months with the Wall Street Journal reporting that NFT sales have dropped by 92% over September 2021 figures. But, what, exactly are NFTs? Are they eligible for protection under intellectual property laws? Or are they merely the foremost Veblen good of the crypto era? NFT is an acronym for “non-fungible token” and within the realm of blockchain technology it refers to a unique digital identifier composed of a string of characters (“hash”) which is created…
Timothy Spiteri
15th September 2022