Latest blog articles

  • Another single colour trademark calamity: the colour purple

    Can a single colour alone be a trademark? The question is neither new nor unexplored. However, old wine in a new bottle is presented by the General Court in its decision rejecting an attempt to register a shade of colour for inhalers for asthma and related pharmaceutical preparations, reinstating...

  • On the importance of teaching critical approaches

    As it stands, we don’t teach critical theory as part of the general international law syllabus in this Faculty. This is why, in October last year, I (with the help of several colleagues, for which I am extremely grateful) set up a reading group for students on Critical Approaches to International...

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  • Under the Modena sun: are compound GIs at risk?

    In a recent judgment, the CJEU determined that the geographical indication Aceto Balsamico di Modena is only protected as a whole. This means that the non-geographical components ‘Aceto’ and ‘Balsamico’ are not protected individually.

  • "Get the facts about freedom of speech and Twitter!"

    In agony, many US citizens were awaiting the night of November 3rd when the first voting results for the US presidential election were expected to trickle in. Having regard to what happened since May and what was bound to happen in the weeks following the election, Twitter, presumably, was...

    Law_ blog on USA elections Trump Twitter
  • Should we worry about sovereign debt?

    In her recent book “The Deficit Myth” star economist Stephanie Kelton tells us why economists should not worry too much about sovereign debt and deficits. But is that the same for lawyers? And are all countries truly treated equally?

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  • Name-dropping in marketing

    Using the trade mark of someone else to describe how your own products relate to the trademark products is allowed under certain circumstances. Recently, the law changed in this respect, leaving the application of some factors uncertain.

    Name dropping in marketing - trademark