WIPR spoke to MARQUES council member Shane Smyth about the key debates at this year's conference and the outlook for brand owners in 2013.
From the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to tobacco branding and domain names, intellectual property has been front-page news in 2012. Proposed anti-piracy legislation has divided the press, the public and brand owners and for IP practitioners, court judgments on class headings, designs and non-conventional marks have further complicated an already complex legal system.
For MARQUES, the association of European trademark owners, this year’s efforts have been focused on making sense of these developments and campaigning for a harmonised approach to trademarks, branding and counterfeiting.
Since January, the team has been consulting with trademark organisations and legislative bodies including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the European Commission on IP developments and directives.
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MARQUES, ACTA, SOPA, CJEU, WIPO, conference
