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

If you were too busy to stay up-to-date with the IP news last week, here's the summary of what you missed.

IP Generally

Image from yacubee via Pixabay.

Antonios Baris reviewed the book, Propriété intellectuelle et développement durable / Intellectual Property & Sustainable Development, edited by Prof. Jacques de Werra. This edited collection addresses the relationship between sustainability and the different IP “ecosystems”, including patents, trade marks, copyright, and unfair competition law. The book can be purchased here with a special discount until 7 April 2024.

Eleonora Rosati informed readers of the upcoming Fashion Law London event on AI in Fashion. Readers can join the discussion in central London or online (live streaming) on Monday 13 May. IPKat readers can take advantage of a 15% discount on the registration fee.

Trade Marks

Marcel Pemsel commented on the legal issues that were recently referred to the CJEU by the German Supreme Court. The case (Extreme Durable, I ZR 205/22) focuses on whether the possession of goods abroad constitutes trade mark infringement if the goods are held for the purpose of offering them in the country where the trade mark is protected - in this case, goods stored in Spain and offered for sale on www.amazon.de, which targets German consumers. 

Katfriend Spyridon Sipetas discussed the latest collaborative fashion piece, the Jacquemus x Nike Swoosh Bag. The launch of ‘Le sac Swoosh’ (or ‘The Swoosh bag’) in February raised an eyebrow from art director and graphic designer Davide Perella, who shared his version of a concept Nike bag in 2020. The post evaluates whether a brand’s reproduction of a design comprised of an unauthorized use of their own trade mark in 3D form can be considered as design copying.

Eleonora Rosati informed readers that the fifth annual Retromark conference will take place on Tuesday 7 May. The event, co-hosted by the IPKat, will be held at Simmons & Simmons’ offices in Citypoint, Moorgate. The programme and registration are available via Eventbrite here (readers are encouraged to register quickly as the event normally sells out).

Copyright

Chijioke Okorie discussed the passage of the Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill by South Africa’s National Assembly. This was the second time the National Assembly passed these bills, after the original bills faced constitutional reservations from the President and were rescinded. The revised bills have now been transmitted to the President for his assent, or referral to the Constitutional Court.

Eleonora Rosati evaluated the challenges that national courts face with applying the CJEU copyright case law. She focuses on the misunderstanding of the CJEU's YouTube, C-682/18 and C-683/18 judgment in the decisions of the Rome Court of First Instance in RTI v Vimeo and RTI v V Kontakte; for example, the Rome Court misunderstood that YouTube concerned primary, not secondary, liability of of a platform operator, and unduly reduced the guidance in YouTube to a formal (and empty) checklist. 

Neil Wilkof reviewed the book, Owning Performance | Performing Ownership: Literary Property and the Eighteenth-Century British Stage, by Jane Wessel. The book explores how the various personages in the world of the theatre in the 18th century — the playwright, the actor, and the manager — sought to assert control over their creative efforts in the absence of statutory protection.