The Rise and Rise of IP Trolls
Innovation fuels progress, but it also creates opportunities for exploitation. Enter the troll: Shadowy figures that lie in wait, using IP law as a tool of extortion rather than protection. Unlike the real creators, these actors contribute nothing to create the assets they claim to protect. Instead, their business model revolves around extracting settlements or […]
Data Privacy vs. Database Rights: Balancing The Scales
Global economic trends and harsher business environments have pointed companies to the vast potential that lay in data, datasets, and databases. As businesses merge and exit, these form a strategic part of their asset base from where they can create more value. With this comes the need to protect the underlying IP in these databases, […]
When IP Crosses Borders: Appraising the Exhaustion Doctrine in International Trade
Free trade opens borders to ‘food’ and ‘food for thought’ aplenty. For IP owners (“rightsholders”) in particular, a common challenge is how the free movement of goods may impact their IP rights. Understanding the “Exhaustion Principle” in IP law becomes vital. Also known as “the First Sale doctrine,” Exhaustion limits a rightsholder from controlling the […]
“It’s Just a Replica—Or Is It?”: Unpacking Trademark Infringement & Unfair Competition in Fragrance Dupes
We all love a bargain. You walk into your local supermarket to see a perfume priced at $30. You notice the label says it is ‘inspired by’ a luxury perfume — a fragrance that typically retails for $830. You’re likely to pick the former. The ‘deal-maker’ in this transaction, as is often the case, is […]
Up In The Air: Navigating Perfume Copyrights in a Sea of ‘Smell Alikes’
To say perfumes are a chemical blend of airborne molecules that form a scent and nothing more would be simplistic. Perfumes are an accessory we daily “wear”; and are every inch a part of how others identify, associate, and perceive us. Indeed, they are a mix of existing molecular blends engineered to produce a particular […]
When Your Name Is No Longer Yours: IP Dilemmas in Eponymous Branding
In crafting a market positioning that dominates industries, branding have their work cut out. Building brand equity takes time. But over time, companies have found eponymous branding, also called “Namesake” branding—the practice of naming your brand after a person (usually a founder or a prominent individual associated with your brand)—to shorten this curve. Names are […]
Brace for Impact: Here’s The EU AI Act’s Stance on IP
From time immemorial to date, there’ve been legitimate concerns about the unethical use of AI and its risks, prompting the EU Council to approve the EU AI Act on May 21, 2024. Following constructive talks, the Act was published in the official EU Journal on July 12, 2024, and will enter into force on August 1, 2024. The EU’s 27 member states unanimously endorsed the AI Act, affirming the political agreement reached in December.
The act is designed to spur the growth and deployment of safe and trustworthy AI systems throughout the EU’s single market. Other objectives are to safeguard the fundamental rights of EU citizens, enhance public confidence in AI, and stimulate innovation and investment across Europe. The Act is also notably broad in scope, impacting all the market actors in the AI value chain within the EU. Naturally, efforts to comply with its provisions will introduce numerous intellectual property (IP) considerations.
Navigating Love and Intellectual Property: The Modern Couple’s Guide to Marital Agreements
In today’s world, where assets are not just physical but increasingly intellectual, the dynamics of marital agreements are evolving. Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, traditionally meant to resolve financial and property disputes in divorce, are now addressing the complexities of intellectual property (IP). This article discusses the intersection of love and intellectual property and examines the […]