Category: Intellectual Property

Last week, the European Patent Office released preliminary figures concerning patent filings in 2014, and the numbers promise us a bright and interesting future! According to the report, EPO received more than 273.110 patent filings in 2014, an increase of around 3% over 2013, and a new all-time high.

After the United Kingdom and Ireland, France is also considering mandatory plain packaging for cigarettes as part of a global effort to reduce the number of smokers. According to World Health Organization, France has the third-highest rate of smoking in Western Europe behind Greece and Austria, with 31 percent of adults smoking daily. That compares with 14 percent in the U.K. and 24 percent in Germany, the WHO says.

Three prominent Croatian organizations have joined forces in the struggle to help renowned and upcoming authors create without the hindrances that vague copyright and related rights bring: Croatian Composers’ Society, Croatian Writers’ Association and Croatian Film Directors’ Guild, all under the patronage of State Intellectual Property Office. These organizations have initiated a campaign named “Authors make the world a better place”, aiming to resolve some of the issues in copyright and related rights law.

We have previously discussed this issue concerning Serbian Law on Copyright and Related Rights, but Serbia is not the only country of the Balkans region that needs some revising in this area. Croatian experts on the subject of intellectual property and copyright also find these laws lacking and are pushing for a clear and more strict law to protect the rights of authors, especially when it comes to the art and cinematography.

Knowledge is the future of each society and the best way to reach society’s full potential in terms of development and economic growth. That is why the issue of intellectual property rights in Serbia goes beyond adjusting to comply with European standards – it is an issue on a much larger scale.

As of April 2014, Montenegro is a part of the Twinning Light project named “Enhancing the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Montenegro”, whose main beneficiary is The Intellectual Property Office of Montenegro.

It is no joke – the clash of the Titans of the electronic industry continues on April 1st– Apple and Samsung head back to Court in another set of patent disputes. This amazing example of companies battling each other, not only on the marketplace, but also in the legal system, now has a new edge. Google will join the dispute actively, even bringing representatives and witnesses.

Copyright infringement is an ever-present problem for novice entrepreneurs.  Nowadays, it is easy for scheming individuals to pass off your work as their own, making a few simple changes.  This is precisely the reason to learn more about protecting your ideas, your business or brand. You can follow these few basic rules as a start-up strategy for protecting your intellectual property.

Small businesses are facing a new brand of bullying from larger companies, seeking to undermine them with expensive trademark infringement lawsuits, called trademark bullying. The goal is to burden non-famous and non-competitive brands with trademark restraints. Some experts are calling it extortion – it is bullying when you are using litigation to enforce rights for a trademark that the law says you don’t reasonably have.

There are numerous pitfalls and traps that await those who venture into business, but one of the first hiccups may be something seemingly as easy as coming up with a business name. Thinking of something creative, original and completely different from the competition might prove a difficult task. A name word, symbol or design is the trademark of your business. We recommend reading these advices, and considering them when coming up with a name for your business.