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Speakers from the UKIPO and Novartis discussed Brexit at the AIPPI World Congress in London, as political protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court just round the corner

Utynam was in Cartagena in December for the ASIPI annual conference. Here are some of the highlights

Speakers shared their wisdom about dealing with different cultures in the “Cultural Intelligence for Trademark Lawyers Today—A Soft Skill Often Underestimated” session yesterday.

The oral arguments in Costco v Omega last week seemed to create more confusion over the proper application of the first sale doctrine to copyrighted goods than had previously existed

The tenth round of ACTA discussions concluded on Friday with seemingly little progress made

We reported previously in this column how Société des Produits Nestlé sued for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the retail discounter Denner from selling and advertising coffee capsules compatible with Nestlé's Nespresso coffee machines that were similar in appearance to the Nespresso coffee capsules. Nestlé's claims were based on a three-dimensional trade mark registration for the capsule shape, on a trade mark registration for the mark What Else? and on unfair competition law. The first instance judge granted the injunction in ex parte proceedings, but subsequently essentially revoked it in inter partes proceedings. The judge considered Denner's argumentation persuasive that the form registered in Nestlé's 3D trade mark cannot be granted trade mark protection because it is technically necessary, in particular for capsules intended to be compatible with Nespresso coffee machines. Nestlé on the other hand argued that the conical shape of its coffee capsule registration is not technically necessary for compatibility with Nespresso coffee machines or other machines, and that a number of alternative, different Nespresso-compatible capsule shapes exist, so that its trade mark registration was valid.

WIPO member states are coming closer to agreeing an international instrument on protecting traditional knowledge

Although the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines has won praise for its attempts to reduce counterfeit selling in shopping malls, doubts remain about how effective the campaign will be in the long term

Proposals to reform EU trade mark law were finally published last month – and contained some good news for trade mark owners. The proposals include substantial changes to the Trade Marks Directive, Community Trade Mark (CTM) Regulation and Fees Regulation. Among other reforms, the European Commission plans to cut fees for CTM applications covering only one class rather than three and improve harmonisation by requiring national offices to provide administrative cancellation and opposition systems.

Judges at China's top court are considering how to revise a judicial interpretation to help guide lower courts on the granting of preliminary injunctions in IP cases.