On 8 September 2021, IP Key China, together with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and with the support of the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), organised a training course on the Coexistence of geographical indications and trade marks.
The EU-China cooperation on intellectual property rights (IPR) criminal enforcement builds on strong foundations, which have been reinforced over the years by IP Key China’s activities.
Today, the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (CAN) and IP Key LA, implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, announced the launch of a technological tool that will allow users to access information on trade marks registered in the subregion.
The tool, referred to as the ‘CAN TMview’ system, will have a completely personalised, free, easy-to-navigate and user-friendly interface, implemented as part of the aforementioned cooperation project.
As of 28 July 2021, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) uses and accepts the list of terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass.
Following IPOPHL’s decision to use HDB, there are now 17 IP offices outside the EU which use and accept terms from this database.
The addition of IPOPHL in TMclass brings the total number of participating national and regional IP offices, including ARIPO, OAPI, WIPO and EUIPO, to 85.
The European project, Intellectual Property Key Latin America (IP Key LA), in conjunction with INDECOPI (Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual), recently launched a study on the economic contribution of industrial property-intensive industries in Peru.
Following the first series of high-level meetings with non-EU stakeholders, which took place in the first half of this year, the Office, over the period from 6 to 16 July, is meeting with the heads of non-EU IP offices.
As of 14 July 2021, the General Directorate of Intellectual Property of Honduras (DIGEPIH) will be included in TMclass.
TMclass offers users the opportunity to search for and translate goods and services to and from any of the 44 languages available as well as verifying the terms’ correct classification under the Nice classification (an international classification of goods and services applied for the registration of marks).
Geographical indications (GIs) are products whose qualities depend on the geographical place or region of production. Denominations such as ‘Roquefort’, ‘Cítricos Valencianos’, ‘Darjeeling tea’, ‘Sandia de Paine’ or ‘Limón de Pica’ underline an indissoluble link between the origin and quality of the product closely tied to the characteristics (climate, geography, production techniques, traditions) of its origin generating a value that is recognised by the public.