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Intellectual Property

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Intellectual Property

Out with the Old and In with the New: Parliament Tables Bill for New Trademarks Act

The long-awaited overhaul of Maltese trademark legislation is imminent – the first repeal and replacement of a major IP statute since Malta's accession to the European Union in 2004. The principal object of the new law  is, of course, to transpose the provisions of Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of 16 December 2015 approximating the laws of EU Member States relating to trademarks.One of the major substantive changes is the redefinition of a trademark such that it is no longer required for a sign or indication to be capable of "graphical representation" in order to be accepted for registration by the IPRD.…
Jonathan Tonna
13th November 2018
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Intellectual Property

Copyright and Freely Accessible Photos: The Implications for Website Operators and Social Media Users

Early last month the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the reproduction of a photo on a website, not being the website through which the rightholder initially made that photo available to the public, constitutes a new communication to the public for the purpose of determining a copyright infringement claim. The Facts:-In case C-161/17, Mr Renckhoff brought proceedings before the Courts of Hamburg against the local authorities having the direct supervision of a secondary school. Mr Renckhoff was a photographer by profession and in 2009 it was possible for persons to access the school's website which…
Mark Soler
8th September 2018
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Intellectual Property

Copyright and Freely Accessible Photos: The Implications for Website Operators and Social Media Users

Early last month the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the reproduction of a photo on a website, not being the website through which the rightholder initially made that photo available to the public, constitutes a new communication to the public for the purpose of determining a copyright infringement claim. The Facts:-In case C-161/17, Mr Renckhoff brought proceedings before the Courts of Hamburg against the local authorities having the direct supervision of a secondary school. Mr Renckhoff was a photographer by profession and in 2009 it was possible for persons to access the school's website which…
Mark Soler
8th September 2018
News_Copyright.jpg
Intellectual Property

Copyright and Freely Accessible Photos: The Implications for Website Operators and Social Media Users

Early last month the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the reproduction of a photo on a website, not being the website through which the rightholder initially made that photo available to the public, constitutes a new communication to the public for the purpose of determining a copyright infringement claim. The Facts:-In case C-161/17, Mr Renckhoff brought proceedings before the Courts of Hamburg against the local authorities having the direct supervision of a secondary school. Mr Renckhoff was a photographer by profession and in 2009 it was possible for persons to access the school's website which…
Mark Soler
8th September 2018
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Intellectual Property

Unconventional Trademarks Post-KitKat: The CJEU’s Standard of Proof for Acquired Distinctiveness Explained

Many people will by now have heard of Nestle's loss at the EU's highest court, marking the end of a long and arduous battle to secure EU-wide trademark protection over the four-trapezoidal-fingered shape of their famous KitKat bar.It's not often that trademark cases make the headlines across mainstream media, making this all very exciting for IP lawyers. But the whole thing did seem, at points, rather more like a race to get that "No Break for KitKat" pun-title out asap than an accurate assessment of the legal implications of the Court of Justice's ("COJ") most recent decision. Were matters different,…
Jonathan Tonna
31st August 2018
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Intellectual Property

Unconventional Trademarks Post-KitKat: The CJEU’s Standard of Proof for Acquired Distinctiveness Explained

Many people will by now have heard of Nestle's loss at the EU's highest court, marking the end of a long and arduous battle to secure EU-wide trademark protection over the four-trapezoidal-fingered shape of their famous KitKat bar.It's not often that trademark cases make the headlines across mainstream media, making this all very exciting for IP lawyers. But the whole thing did seem, at points, rather more like a race to get that "No Break for KitKat" pun-title out asap than an accurate assessment of the legal implications of the Court of Justice's ("COJ") most recent decision. Were matters different,…
Jonathan Tonna
31st August 2018