EU Observatory to raise goods-in-transit problem
The European Observatory wants to strengthen border controls within the EU to stop counterfeit goods leaving for third countries, according to Phil Lewis, who is responsible for planning and developing the network.
Lewis was speaking at The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys ( www.itma.org.uk) Spring Conference 2014 in Westminster, and was asked in the following question-and-answer session what the EU Observatory was doing to combat the problem of goods-in-transit.
“The Observatory is very conscious of the point you've just raised. When we speak to the [European] Commission, it's a point we make,” he said. “We want to strengthen border controls.”
Lewis added that the transit of counterfeit goods through EU member states to other countries is “a major concern” of the Observatory, a network managed by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market that helps to share best practices for dealing with infringement.
However, he noted, the Observatory is just the delivery arm, and action would have to be taken by the EU.
Earlier, and more whimsically, conference delegates were asked to consider whether a vineyard would be able to use the name ‘Shakespeare’ on a bottle of wine in the UK. Almost certainly, said Bill Trott, head of policy and practice at the UK Intellectual Property Office.
Trott was asked whether there would be a cultural heritage defence to any objections, as there might be for the name ‘Goethe’ in Germany.
“Shakespeare, in our minds, would be okay," he said. “Shakespeare is still a reasonably common English name so we wouldn't be too po-faced about it.”
As for ruling on the image rights of famous people, Trott was asked whether there was a safety net to take account of the age of those making the decisions. “All examiners have knowledge, but it's up to them to research a name,” he said.
Also, “there might be a discussion within the office as everyone's knowledge is limited. There's a pool, a collective knowledge, and there's always Google.”
