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Intellectual property

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COVID19 MeasuresIntellectual Property

IP Hurdles in the Race for a Covid-19 Vaccine? (Part II)

On June 12 of last year, a few short months into a pandemic which, by then, had already reached all corners of the globe, the present author made a prediction concerning the IP barriers to distribution of the various Covid vaccines that were, at the time, in the very early stages of their development "Hurdles in the Race for a Covid-19 Vaccine?". The general thesis put forward in that article was that governments across the world would sooner guillotine their IP consultants in a public square than take their opinions seriously on the subject of vaccine rollouts. After all; two…
Jonathan Tonna
16th April 2021
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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

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

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
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Intellectual PropertyNews

Trademarking Shape-Colour Combinations: The CJEU Pronounces Itself on Christian Louboutin’s Famous Red Sole

Some readers may be familiar with the 2011 case filed by Mr. Louboutin against fashion giants Yves Saint Laurent over the former's US trademark registration for his famous red sole.Here is one of the more well-known representations of the mark, as filed with trademark authorities the world over: The New York District Court, adopted a view to which fashion lovers might be more inclined – namely that:"The law should not countenance restraints that would interfere with creativity and stifle competition by one designer, while granting another a monopoly invested with the right to exclude use of an ornamental or functional…
Jonathan Tonna
19th June 2018