WHAT THE ECC! TM RENEWALS ONLINE

What the ECC!

Sweet & Maxwell's European Commercial Cases are a handy source of information about IP developments. Part 1 for 2006 is no exception, containing the following juicy tidbits:

* TF1 v L'Equipe TV (Cour de Cassation, France) - whether the European Convention on Human Rights had been infringed by a court's limitation of the number of times a TV broadcasting company could show extracts of World Cup 2002 soccer matches;

* Re Internet Auctions of Counterfeit Watches (Bundesgerichtshof, Germany) - sale of fake watches described as ROLEX on eBay internet auction site. eBay's appeal was allowed in part

The IPKat notes that the new editor of the ECC is Fidelma Smyth, a very sweet and capable soul. He's sure the series is in good hands.

Imitation Rolex here
Imitation eBay here

... and a mystery: Merpel wants to know why the letters CMLR appear in large bold letters on the cover of the ECC, when they stand for "Common Law Law Reports", which the ECC isn't.


Trade mark renewals online

The IPKat has just received a Press Release from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that runs, in material part, as follows:

"WIPO LAUNCHES ON-LINE SERVICE FOR RENEWAL OF INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARKS

WIPO launched a new service this week that will enable trademark owners to renew their international trademark registrations on-line, making this a more cost-effective and efficient procedure. The new "e-renewal" service which was launched on April 3, 2006, is a simple way of renewing international trademark registrations up to six months before the date on which the payment of the renewal fee is due. The new service is available from WIPO’s website at http://www.wipo.int/e-marks.

Under the new WIPO e-renewal service, users can renew trademarks registered under the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks simply by entering the number of their international registration. A screen will then show the name of the holder of that international registration, the name of the representative, if any, and the list of the states in which the international registration may be renewed. Having selected the countries for which renewal is sought, the fees due are automatically calculated".

Left: Mary, who is a little hard of hearing, struggles to renew her trade mark using WIPO's new On-Lion system.

The IPKat is delighted that trade mark owners are enjoying the fullest benefits of modern technology. Merpel adds, it seems only right and proper that you can renew trade marks online, since you can infringe them online too ...