•  The Amicus Curiae Team is involved in interventions in actions in which it is not a party. One such case concerns the detention of goods which are known to infringe IP rights but which are merely in transit. The Team has tried a new way of intervening, by preparing materials for governments to use in European Court of Justice proceedings. Getting involved in proceedings a national level is a good way of ensuring that the Team has a chance to influence the ECJ in references from the national court.  Interestingly, the Amicus team could not reach consensus on the position to take regarding the ONEL/OMEL case (see earlier Class 46 posts here, here, here and here), in which the Benelux Intellectual Property Office considered that use in just one EU member state did not constitute 'genuine use'.
  
  
• The Anticounterfeiting and Parallel Trade Team reported that work was still needed on the problems that arise when goods are seized by Customs as fakes but turn out to be parallel imports. The need to involve not just MARQUES members but others in this Team's activities was emphasised. The Team has been asked for its input on proposals to reform Customs provisions and is investigating what precisely this entails.
  
  

• Next to report was the Brands and Marketing Team, which announced its Advertising Portal, the availability of its collection of branding blunders, its work on the cultural significance of flowers, numbers, animals and colours (thus in Italy chrysanthemums are associated with sadness, which the number 4 in China sounds the same as "death"). The team's remit includes regulatory, cultural and environmental issues involving advertising and marketing, particularly with regard to health, children and ethnic minorities.
  
  

• The CyberSpace Team has had a busy year, attending and speaking in conferences, dealing with journalists' inquiries and delving into the ramifications of the new ICANN gTLD Process -- the Team suggests that there should be no new gTLDs unless the requisite provisions for protecting trade marks are in place.  Following a recommendation from Council, this team is working together with ECTA on these matters.
  
  

• The Design Team explained its work regarding rejected Community design applications. There are currently problems in accessing data from OHIM, the resolution of which is under discussion. Modernisation of the Locarno Classification system is also within the team's current objectives, as well as discussion of whether a Singapore Treaty-style provision should be made for design registrations too.

• The Education Team informed MARQUES that it was proposing to reform the rules for Lewis Gaze Essay and that its ongoing work on compiling booklists was continuing apace. The team is working on a booket for marketing personnel, a basic document which can educate people who work with brands so that they can avoid basic errors, etc.  The booklet will also deal with issues like policing and staff training for the purpose of handling queries from the public.Cooperation with other bodies, such as ELSA (the European Law Students Association) is also contemplated.

•  The Geographical Indications Team looked forward to cooperating with Class 46 since this weblog covers the grant of EU GIs as part of its news service. The Team's GeoNews newsletter continues to provide news and analysis on the subject and work continues on tables and databases covering treaties, decisions and other relevant data from courts and national administrative bodies.  Its members view their contribution in terms of the thoughts and ideas they generate, not just in terms of attending meetings or achieving immediate results.

• The Intellectual Asset Management Team seeks to help raise the profile of brand value for MARQUES members.  as ammunition for people who find their brand management budgets getting cut or falling under threat of cuts.  The Team plans a regular series of articles for the MARQUES newsletter, to raise general awareness of IAM issues. It is also examining the extent to which brands can be bought or auctioned in the open market, as well as classic in-house problems such as budgeting for trade mark portfolio management.  A further project relates to participation in the plan for an ISO certification for trade marks.
  
  

• Despite its rather strange name, the IP Outer Borders Team is currently dealing with a fairly conventional topic, though one which is causing a lot of anxiety in IP-owning circles: on the liability/responsibility of intermediaries in respect of internet-related IP uses and trade. There is now a growing body of case law, which will be supplemented by a questionnaire for MARQUES members.

• From outer borders to inner borders, the next presentation came from the OHIM Team, which has been liaising with the Office on matters regarding fees, application of the Cooperation Fund to various good uses, electronic tools, development of TMView, online filing in all offices and the provision of information services for users of the trade mark system.  The Max Planck Institute review of the operation of the Community trade mark system was flagged for future attention.

1.  This post covers part 1 of the Team Report session.  A further post will cover the rest of the team reports.

2. The entire session of the MARQUES Meeting which was devoted to these reports has been filmed and will be made available from the MARQUES website in due course.