Macau, an island constituting one of the "Special Administrative Regions" of the People's Republic of China, has a unique patent system, which is notoriously advantageous for applicants. What is the benefit exactly and who benefits?
Since the establishment of the WTO, the promise was made that the world would finally have an effective system of enforcement for trade and IP law. Peter van den Bossche discusses the American boycott of the Dispute Settlement System (DSS) under the WTO, in light of the TRIPS Agreement, at the IGIR...
On December 10th 2019, the Appellate Body (AB) of the WTO will remain with one judge only, Ms. Zhao Hong (China). This will impair the functionality of the AB as it requires three judges to operate. At the IGIR – IEEM IP Seminar in Macao, Peter van den Bossche discussed potential alternatives to a...
The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is a milestone. It allowed intellectual property (IP) to become far more present in society than ever before, connecting it to trade. But has this milestone, come for good, for better, or worse? TRIPS was understood to be...
As the title suggests: Beyoncé already knew that good faith can determine the fate of one’s actions. This is also true for registering trade marks. One should hence avoid bad faith practices, as defined by Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
European Union research funding emphasises interactions between stakeholders as key to drive innovation on the continent. In that light, my PhD research within the EU-funded EIPIN Innovation Society project considers ‘collaborative governance’ between law, human behaviour and material conditions as...
AIs are currently reversing the roots of the retail industry which was mainly based on a reactive model. Instead, based on their predictions, the model is changing and consumers are being highly influenced by AIs at any stage of the purchasing process. Does this challenge the roots of trademark law...
Recently, Chanel Co., Ltd. lost a trade mark infringement case regarding its ‘Double C’ logo in China. The full text of the decision can be visited via here (Google translatable). The case has drawn wide attention and, mostly, negative comments. Does this seemingly-counterintuitive loss indeed, well...
This week I am having the pleasure of attending the 2019 BIO International Convention hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The biggest global event of its kind, this international convention brings together stakeholders from across the biotechnologies. Whether it be from the health, agricultural or...
Copyright protection in various artistic fields is already recognized and respected, however in comedy and stand-up performances, the question remains as to whether a comedian can be inspired by another comedian by appropriating and translating a part of his sketch.
