Latest blog articles

  • Geographical indications in EU-Vietnam FTA: beyond quality control

    Concluded at the end of 2015, the European Union-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) has marked a successive breakthrough for the EU in exporting its long-standing sui generis protection of geographical indications (GIs). With respect to the scope of protection, the GI chapter in EVFTA has introduced a peculiar...

    Vietnamese trade
  • Renewable energy technology - fair and equitable treatment standard?

    Although decreasing costs of renewable energy technology have made renewable energy projects more commercially viable, investment in renewables remains highly capital-intensive, due to large necessary upfront costs, and is not considered profitable in the short-term.

    Renewable energy_law Blogs Maastricht
  • Louboutin red sole shoes and copycats

    Christian Louboutin vs Van Haren Schoenen - The CJEU is to decide as to whether or not the red colour on soles of Louboutin shoes represents an aspect of a shape of the product, in which case it would not be protectable.

    Louboutin_heels
  • Can Aldi sell a dessert called “Champagner Sorbet”?

    Since “Champagne” is a protected designation of origin (PDO) under EU law, it is not self-evident whether a product that is not Champagne but which contains Champagne can use the protected term in its trade name.

    Champagne
  • Patents and climate change

    The world faces the growing problem of global warming. This phenomenon leads to unprecedented social effects in human history. Consequently, it is imperative to mitigate this problem. International Organizations and countries are working together in order to better deal with this issue.

    Climate change
  • Are open designs truly free?

    A handbook, a practical tool for users”; this is how Dr. Thomas Kirchberger defines his thesis, in which he covers the relation between Open Design and Intellectual Property. On Friday 29th of September 2017, Dr. Kirchberger came to our Law Faculty to discuss this topic and analyse how open design...

    creative-commons license
  • Judging the state in international trade and investment law

    This book addresses concerns with the international trade and investment dispute settlement systems from a statist perspective, at a time when multilateralism is deeply questioned by the forces of mega-regionalism and political and economic contestation.

    1950_international_trade
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP), a call for action

    “Whereas from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’s Monster to the classical myth of Pygmalion, through the story of Prague’s Golem to the robot of Karel Čapek, who coined the word, people have fantasised about the possibility of building intelligent machines, more often than not androids with human...

    Artificial intelligence blog_Law blogs Maastricht