All 18 MARQUES Teams met during the Meetings, and a representative of each Team reported on their recent and planned activities.
Peter Wild of the Programming Team (pictured) highlighted the range of events organised by MARQUES throughout Europe in the past year, and provided an update on some of the plans for the coming year while Hanne Weywardt of the Communication & Membership Team reported on the development of the membership, the new website and expansion of social media use.
Other teams discussed some of the work MARQUES is doing behind-the-scenes to help shape trade mark law and policy. The Amicus Curiae Team has prepared a brief to file in the WTO plain packaging dispute, and also plans to submit one in the CJEU Micro case, concerning fig leaf figurative marks. The Regulatory Team is also watching the plain packaging issue, and in particular potential legislation in Ireland, the UK and Scotland.
EU and WIPO
At the European level, the EU Study Task Force has been monitoring the legislative progress of the trade mark reforms (see article in this issue of HouseMARQUES). In addition, the Anti-Counterfeiting and Parallel Trade Team has been following progress with the Observatory and Enforcement Database, as well as topics such as Customs enforcement.
WIPO is another focus of activity. Eduardo Machado of the Madrid Protocol Team provided an update on accessions, filing figures and expected developments, while Marcus Frick of the Trade Mark Law and Practice Team provided an update on the Norwegian proposal.
The Designs and GI Teams are busy focusing on developments in their areas. The Designs Team has submitted comments on OHIM’s renewal and examination guidelines, and is still involved with WIPO discussions on a Designs Treaty. The GI Team is also engaged at WIPO, and expects a diplomatic conference to be held next year.
Further afield
As well as monitoring the rollout of new gTLDs, the Cyberspace Team has been studying issues such as keywords, intermediaries, augmented reality and social media complaints, said Caroline Perriard, its Chair (pictured).
The amendment to the Trade Mark Law is providing a rich source of activity for the China Team, which is preparing a booklet on the top 10 issues for brand owners.
Many of the other Teams are looking at providing research and reports on trends and issues facing brand owners. To give just a few examples, the Unfair Competition Team has been examining shape marks, the European copyright review and trade mark surveys; the Brands & Marketing Team is researching green labelling, the revival of brands, non-use cancellation and brands in crisis; the IAM Team is looking into valuation and crisis management; the IP Outer Borders Team is working on issues including localism, crowdsourcing and nicknames; while the Famous and Well-Known Marks Team has targeted research on a toolkit for collecting evidence and studying the birth, life and death of a famous mark (vice-chair Lydia Gobena is pictured).
The Meetings also featured the Kay Uwe Jonas Memorial Lecture, given by Professor Dirk Visser (see separate article) and a workshop on the impact of recent EU developments and case law on national offices led by Camille Janssen of BOIP.
Read more reports from the Team Meetings on the Class 46 blog. The presentations from the Meetings are available on the MARQUES Conference page.
More information about all the Teams, including details of membership, publications, research and events are available on the Team pages of the MARQUES website.
Issue 039
Professor Dirk Visser gave the second annual Kay Uwe Jonas lecture at the MARQUES Team Meetings in Amsterdam this month. After his speech, James Nurton asked him a few questions.
Janice Trebble of the Education Team outlines some of its recent initiatives, and explains how MARQUES members can help.
Simonne Moodie of the Brands & Marketing Team provides a summary of the new Regulations Relating to Foodstuffs for Infants and Young Children in South Africa.
MARQUES has submitted comments on the latest developments regarding trade mark reforms in Europe.
WIPO has announced several initiatives: a new publication on the Madrid system; a revised Guide to the International Registration of Marks under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol; and amended official Madrid forms (MM forms).
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry discussed various challenges posed to trade mark protection by the proliferation of new gTLDs earlier this month.
The theme of this year’s World IP Day, which takes place on 26th April, is Movies: A Global Passion.
Update your calendar with all the MARQUES events planned for the coming year.
In the past month, MARQUES bloggers have posted on the Trunki design case; German trade mark statistics; and the DEXEUS trade mark case in Spain, among many other topics.
