Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

If you've been too busy pumpkin shopping to keep up with the latest news, don't worry - the IPKat is here to bring you up to speed.

Patents

This Kat hasn't quite got the hang of
carving Jack-O-Lanterns

Katfriend Léon Dijkman provided an update about 10X Genomics v Nanostring - the first-ever injunction decision by the new Unified Patent Court (UPC). Léon analyses the Munich local division's decision that, to qualify for the grant of a preliminary injunction, patentees must satisfy a two-fold necessity requirement of urgency and irreparable harm, along with weighing up the balance of interests of the parties.

Trade Marks

Marcel Pemsel evaluated the recent Attorney General's opinion regarding alleged infringement of Audi’s figurative trade mark consisting of four interlocking rings, in the context of selling customised spare parts. The AG took the view that the shape of the mounting device on the spare parts did not affect the origin function of Audi’s trade mark; the matter is awaiting a decision from the CJEU.

Geographical Indications

Last week, the Council approved the new EU Regulation on geographical indication (GI) protection for craft and industrial products. Anastasiia Kyrylenko explained the next steps for the new Regulation and suggested materials that may be of interest to readers who would like to learn more about the non-agricultural GI system.

Designs

Katfriend Caroline Theunis gave readers insights into the debates at the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications about the drafting of the long-awaited Design Law Treaty (DLT). This Kat was particularly interested by the African Group's proposal that applicants should be obliged to disclose if a design makes use of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions or genetic resources, which remains unresolved. We eagerly await the Diplomatic Conference in 2024 to see how consensus will be achieved on these questions.

Copyright

Katfriend Eleni Lappa provided an analysis of the latest changes to online copyright protection in Greece. She discusses how the latest amendments and decisions in Greece have sought to ensure efficiency in responding to domain names that broadcast pirated audiovisual content.