Press "Enter" to skip to content

Category: Trademark

Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: 2016 Update report

This report builds on the 2012 version by providing an update on the impact of IP on US economy and a fresh look at the approach used to measure those results. The update continues to focus on measuring the intensity of IP use, and its persistent relationship to economic indicators such as employment, wages, and value added.

Comments closed

Explanatory notes for Unjustified Threats Bill

The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Bill (the Bill) sets out reforms to the law of unjustified, or groundless, threats as it applies to patents, trade marks and designs. The law in this area provides a remedy for those who are affected by unjustified threats. Threats to sue for infringement are unjustified where they are made in respect of an invalid right or where there has been no infringement. These Explanatory Notes explain what each part of the Bill will mean in practice.

Comments closed

Blossom pie design is functional and therefore ineligible for trademark protection

Chudleigh’s is an apple farm and bakery based in Ontario, Canada, which sells baked goods to consumers and commercial entities. In the mid-1990s, Scott Chudleigh, an owner of the business, began developing a “single-serve, fully baked . . . apple pie” to sell to restaurants, to which it already distributed multi-serving apple pies. Mr. Chudleigh and his wife tested several possible shapes for the single-serve pies, settling on a round shape with six folds of pastry encircling the filling. Chudleigh’s registered a trademark for the six-fold pastry design, known as the Blossom Design, and the mark became incontestable in 2005.

Comments closed