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Employment Law Alliance (ELA – Annual Conference & Dinner 2019 – Lisbon
13th To 15th October 2019
John Wilson will be attending the conference. The conference will cover the highly talked about topic of ‘Race equality in the UK’– a work in progress, to which John has provided input. Various other topics relating to Employment Law will be discussed.
International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference – Seoul, South Korea
22nd To 27th September 2019
John Wilson will be attending the Annual IBA Conference in Korea. The IBA’s Annual Conference is the central event of the international legal community’s calendar as it presents an unequalled opportunity to exchange knowledge and to create and renew a global network of colleagues and business contacts. The 2019 program will include over 200 sessions, which culminate in the inspiring Rule of Law Symposium. As always, there will be outstanding showcase sessions and the committee sessions will offer the chance to hear from the best experts in the field and will benefit all delegates, whichever your area of practice.
John is Co-chair of the IP and Entertainment Committee. The IP and Entertainment Committee will lead the following discussions:
- The many faces of online infringement
- Battling ninjas, chefs, and finding your perfect date shows: TV formats in East Asia and elsewhere
- Mirror mirror on the wall: a reflective view of IP and other issues in the industry
- Man versus machine
International Bar Association (IBA) Retreat of the IP and Entertainment Law Committee – Seoul, South Korea
19th To 22nd September 2019
John Wilson and Elsie Carolin will be attending the retreat this year. The retreat takes place annually before the main IBA Annual Conference. These retreats give the officers a chance to meet and get to know each other. A business meeting to plan the work of the Committee during the year is held. The event is generally well attended.
Employment Termination Survey April 2019
John Wilson Partners have participated in this survey. We hope you will find this publication useful and relevant. The information in this publication is meant as an overview and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions on the law in any of the jurisdictions, please contact the relevant member firm, who can provide the appropriate legal support.
Read more: https://www.ela.law/Templates/media/files/PUBLICATIONS/ELA-Guide-on-Termination-16052019-AP.pdf
Non-Traditional Marks—East Asia & Pacific Subcommittee Hosts First Policy Dialogue in China
Today’s consumers are increasingly cognizant of nontraditional marks and their influence on purchasing decisions.
INTA’s Non-Traditional Marks (NTM)—East Asia & Pacific (EA&P) Subcommittee held its first-ever dialogue with the China Trademark Association (CTA) to discuss “Non-Traditional Marks: Different Approaches and Lessons Learnt in the Asia Pacific Region.” Approximately 20 trademark practitioners gathered in Beijing, China, on April 23 for this event to explore the ever changing arena of nontraditional marks.
Notable participants representing China trademark authorities included CTA President Ma Fu, China Patent and Trademark Office (CTMO) Deputy Director Fan Yali, and Senior Judge of the Beijing High People’s Court Zhou Bo (now with the Supreme People’s Court). Seth Hays, INTA Chief Representative Officer, Asia-Pacific; Monica Su, INTA Representative Officer, Shanghai, China; and Vicky Dai, Assistant, Shanghai, China, also took part in the dialogue.
Following opening remarks by NTM—EA&P Subcommittee Chair Wei Xin, both Mr. Fu and Mr. Hays remarked that today’s consumers are increasingly cognizant of nontraditional marks and their influence on purchasing decisions. However, the lack of a quantitative indicator to distinguish these marks remains a hurdle.
Committee members Chris Cao (Marquette IP, Australia), Annie Tsoi (Wilkinson & Grist, Hong Kong), and Tomoya Kurokawa (SOEI Patent & Law Firm, Japan) discussed NTM policy and practice in Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan, respectively. In all three jurisdictions, the requirement of “human perception” has replaced the earlier “visually perceptible” requirement in distinguishing the source of goods and/or services, which is the essence of a mark. Although statistics may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, 3D marks, color marks, and sound marks make up the majority of NTMs registered, while motion marks, position marks, and hologram marks remain in the minority.
Each presenter gave concrete examples of successful non-traditional marks registrations, prompting a lively discussion of how distinctiveness is acquired through use. In this regard, the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department (HK IPD) offers a useful checklist to evaluate evidence (including catalogues, sales figures/invoices, amount of promotional/marketing expenses, store locations, market surveys, and statements from trade) to determine whether the mark in question is used or promoted as a trademark, or operated as an indicator of origin to denote the applicant’s goods/services. In particular, if a mark is used for less than two years, it is unlikely to qualify as continuous use. Rather, a benchmark of five years is more standard.
Ms. Tsoi noted that the HK IPD weighs consumers’ perception heavily when considering such cases. On the other hand, if a mark is always used together with another distinctive element, this may call into question whether the mark itself is distinctive on its own.
Ms. Fan introduced the four steps of NTM examination in China: prohibitory provisions, distinctiveness, similarity check, and functionality examination. He pointed out that a mark will not be allowed to mature to registration if an applicant provides inconsistent views from different angles.
The CTMO maintains a very strict standard regarding NTM examination, even when the applicant provides a disclaimer with the application. Judge Bo echoed the view that consistency is essential in proving the distinctiveness of 3D marks. Speakers from all jurisdictions also noted the common problem of deceptive registrations of two-dimensional marks for products that are in fact used in a 3D manner.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participants agreed that continued NTM policy dialogues would be beneficial to all, and could positively affect the Chinese legislative amendment process in the coming years.
Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.
Published in the INTA Bulletin of June 15, 2019 | Vol.74 No. 10
Message to Readers from the Chair of the Publications Committee of the IPBA Journal
The theme that I have chosen for this issue of the Journal is Employment Law and Cross-Border Employment Law issues.
In addition to the articles contributed by our members, we are privileged to be able to publish in this issue of the Journal transcripts of the remarks made by two Judges, Mr. Duco Oranje and Ms. Heike Hummelmeier, during the course of the IPBA’s program on ‘International Commercial Courts’, which was held in Brussels in November last year. A description of that event can be found on pages 12 and 13 with some photographs. I am also very pleased that we are publishing the transcript of the speech of the Minister of Justice of Belgium who addressed that event. My thanks to Jan Peeters, Sebastian Kühl and Bart Kasteleijn for their assistance in helping to have these transcripts published.
AEA International Congress
May 30th To June 02nd 2019 – Nice, France
John Wilson will be attending the XIV International Congress in Nice.
IPBA Council Meetings & ELA Regional Meeting
22nd To 27th April 2019 – Singapore
John Wilson will be attending this conference in Singapore. The theme will be “Technology, Business and Law – Global Perspectives”. The conference will examine the legal challenges arising from global regulatory and technological developments.
Read more : https://ipba2019.org
06th Asia Pacific Regional Forum Biennial Conference
February 27th To March 01st 2019 – Tokyo
John Wilson attended the Asia Pacific Regional Forum in Tokyo where he presented on the topic of Business and Human Rights as well as future trends and development.
MSI Asia Pacific Regional Meeting
15th To 17th March 2019, Shanghai
John Wilson will be attending the MSI Regional Meeting in Shanghai.
Topics of discussion will be:
“China-Africa relations in an age of uncertainty”
The presentation will explore what the Chinese are doing in Africa and why this relationship is becoming more important.
“Collaboration begins with one”
The focus of this discussion will be on the collaboration between Accounting and Law firms, and how they can proactively work together to leverage core points of difference relative to the competition.
Should you wish to meet John in Shanghai, please send an email to:
Hosted by MSI Global Alliance