2022年8月，在美国洛杉矶的一家名为圣安东尼酒庄诉某嘉兴公司商标侵权纠纷一案的上诉中，美国联邦第九巡回法院推翻了原审法院的错误结论，裁定《兰哈姆法》（the “Lanham Act”）第1051(e)条的送达程序不仅适用于美国专利及商标局（下称“USPTO”）的行政程序，同样也适用于法院程序，即针对外国公司的商标诉讼可直接向USPTO完成送达。
按照《兰哈姆法》第1051(e)条的规定，居住在外国的商标申请人，可以指定一个居住在美国的人作为在影响该商标的程序中接受送达通知或程序的受送达人。如果该商标申请人拒绝指定某人或无法找到被指定人，可以通过向USPTO的局长向该商标申请人完成送达。
随着诸如NFT（非同质化代币）的数字资产在如今的Web 4.0时代越来越受到关注，相应的知识产权问题也不可避免地产生了。知识产权通常包含专利、著作权、商标与商业机密。但当谈及NFTs时，人们大多注意的是著作权与商标问题。
As digital collectables such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) become more popular in our Web 4.0 era, more IP problems are inevitably created. For those new to this field, IP typically refers to patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, but in the world of NFTs, copyright and trademark issues generally get the public’s attention.
Continue reading “Intersection of NFT and IP – Developments to Watch”
The topic of the Metaverse has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and debate in recent months. For example, Facebook changed its name to “Meta” with lots of fanfare. In another headline, Nike purchased an NFT (non-fungible token) designer company, RTFKT Studios, and appeared ready to use virtual athletic shoe NFTs to generate exposure, as well as to begin selling virtual shoes. Also, a personal injury law firm in New Jersey decided to open an office in Decentraland, claiming to be the first-ever personal injury law firm in the Metaverse.
Even more recently, as of the week of 2 February 2022, a major law firm is opening a virtual office in the Metaverse in the fashion and retail district of browser-based 3D platform Decentraland.[1][2] It is the first major law firm to open in the Metaverse.
Continue reading “The Metaverse and Its IP Implications – It is still a “Wild, Wild West” out there”
创新是企业在市场竞争中脱颖而出或屹立不倒的硬实力。一个创新的社会不但可以让本地市场充满活力，也可以使整个国家在国际市场上更具竞争力。知识产权一方面代表着企业的创新成果，另一方面也意味着企业在该竞争领域内建立了一定程度的保护屏障。习近平主席和中央政府近期也就全面加强知识产权工作作出重大部署，其中包括印发《知识产权强国建设纲要（2021-2035年）》。该纲要对中国知识产权事业未来发展蓝图进行了规划，充分彰显了中国想要建设成为知识产权强国的决心。
笔者曾在一家知名跨国企业担任知识产权（Intellectual Property, “IP”）顾问多年，愿借此平台梳理一下笔者在IP领域的实战经验并与各位同仁分享。对于涉足高科技产业的企业来说，专利与商业秘密是企业经常使用的保护研发成果的两种方法，保护的都是以技术为背景的改进或发明。
What does IP mean?
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP represents property rights and is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright, industrial design and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.
What advantages do IP confer upon a company?
Companies, large and small, need to set themselves apart from others in order to compete successfully in the market place. For technology companies, their R&D efforts are often captured as inventions and proprietary technology. Inventions and proprietary technology are generally protected as patents and trade secrets, respectively. Without adequate protection, which often requires setting up an internal process to document and harvest the fruits of their R&D efforts, companies would be replaced by competitors, and lose out. Companies such as Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Nvidia, Apple, and Huawei are such IP owners, to name just a few.
