The new version of the Global Brand Database is available

WIPO reports about the launch of the upgraded version of the Global Brand Database. The change concerns mainly the interface which, according to WIPO, is more user-friendly now. The database provides some interesting stats for the searches too.

In general, this database provides access to:

• WIPO international trademarks under the Madrid protocol,
• national and regional trademarks shared by national and regional IP Offices,
• International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical Substances (INN),
• WIPO appellations of origin under the Lisbon Agreement and
• WIPO emblems under Article 6ter. It includes WIPO data

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What is a database for intellectual property rights?

A database for intellectual property rights represents an organised way of storing information for all IP assets that one company or individual owns. Such a database is important because it allows these assets to be managed properly and their protection to be maintained successfully.

The database can include different sections depending on the type of intellectual property. Typically it would give easy access to the relevant information and the necessary flexibility for better efficiency.

Intellectual property databases are absolutely essential for every company or individual that possesses such assets.

Through such a database the owner can look over all of its assets, can follow the relevant deadlines for work with Patent Offices and business partners, can keep an eye on the different terms related to these assets, can work easily with its IP attorneys and customers, etc.

Without an IP database, the risk of missing deadlines or for example a term for renewing IP protection can rise significantly. What’s more, the owner will not know what IP assets possess and can miss opportunities for profiting from them or even can lose money.

The database gives a clear view of what you have and at the same time provides you with an option to manage your assets in a more efficient way.

If we put potential flexibility to the database this by itself can not only organize your assets but can save you time and money in the long run.

There are several options for the creation of an IP database:

• A standard excel sheet — is probably the easiest way to build an intellectual property database. You can create a classic excel table where to fill in the whole information for your IP rights. The plus here is that this is a very easy way, however, there are several downsides. First of all the excel file doesn’t have reminders that can pop up or can be sent to your email. Even in case, there are some solutions for that you will need to put additional efforts in that regard. Another problem could be if you store this file locally on your computer you can lose it because of technical issues. And when the file becomes too heavy it can be troublesome to be managed.
• A paid specialised software — is definitely the best option, because such software is built with the purpose of managing IP assets. There are two main downsides, however. The first is that such software is expensive in most cases, which could be a challenge for individual IP owners, small or even mid-sized companies. The other issue could be that the software can be complex requiring some specialised knowledge and training which could prove costly.
• Adapted cloud-based applications — the third option is to use some cloud-based apps that, while not created specifically for database purposes, with some adjustments could be utilized to do the job. This is a good choice for individuals, freelancers, authors, and small- to mid-size companies and startups. In most cases, it doesn’t require a large budget and it can be used without serious training.

I’m finding this third option quite interesting and capable of doing the job. That’s why I created this a Udemy course in order to show you how to use one such free application, in this case, Asana, to create your own IP database which will serve you well for the purpose it is built for. I hope that you will like the course.

Now there is a promo code — 95% OFF — for the course, you can find it here

You can find a referral link to the course here too.

Malaysia joins DesignView

The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) has added its national designs to the global database for industrial designs DesignView.

In that way, new 39 000 designs will be available through DesignView which gives access to more than 18 million designs.

All of this means that IP practitioners and business owners now will be able to search for registered designs in Malaysia easily saving time and money while building appropriate design strategies for this country.

When is there an infringement of database rights?

The European Court has ruled in case C‑762/19 „CV-Online Latvia“ SIA v „Melons“ SIA. This dispute concerns potential infringements of sui generis rights over databases and has the following background:

CV-Online, a company incorporated under Latvian law, operates the website http://www.cv.lv. That website includes a database, developed and regularly updated by CV-Online, containing job advertisements published by employers.

The website http://www.cv.lv is also equipped with meta tags of the ‘microdata’ type. Those tags, which are not visible when the CV-Online web page is opened, allow internet search engines to better identify the content of each page in order to index it correctly. In the case of CV-Online’s website, those meta tags contain, for each job advertisement in the database, the following key words: ‘job title’, ‘name of the undertaking’, ‘place of employment’ and ‘date of publication of the notice’.

Melons, also a company incorporated under Latvian law, operates the website http://www.kurdarbs.lv, which is a search engine specialising in job advertisements. That search engine makes it possible to carry out a search on several websites containing job advertisements, according to various criteria, including the type of job and the place of employment. By means of hyperlinks, the website http://www.kurdarbs.lv refers users to the websites on which the information sought was initially published, including CV-Online’s website. By clicking on such a link, the user can, inter alia, access the website http://www.cv.lv, in order to become acquainted with that site and the entirety of its contents. The information contained in the meta tags inserted by CV-Online in the programming of its website is also displayed in the list of results obtained when using the specialised search engine of Melons.

Taking the view that there is a breach of its sui generis right under Article 7 of Directive 96/9, CV-Online brought an action against Melons. It maintains that Melons ‘extracts’ and ‘re-utilises’ a substantial part of the contents of the database on the website http://www.cv.lv.

The court of first instance found that there had been a breach of that right, on the ground that there was a ‘re-utilisation’ of the database.

Melons brought an appeal against the judgment at first instance before the Regional Court, Riga (Civil Law Division), Latvia. It maintains that its website does not provide online transmission, namely, that it does not operate ‘in real time’. Melons also claims that a distinction must be drawn between the website http://www.cv.lv and the database which it contains. It submits, in that regard, that it is the meta tags used by CV-Online that cause the information relating to the job advertisements to appear in the results obtained by means of the http://www.kurdarbs.lv search engine and that those meta tags are not part of the database. Melons claims that it was precisely because CV-Online wanted the search engines to show that information that CV-Online inserted those meta tags in the programming of its site.

In those circumstances, the Regional Court, Riga (Civil Law Division), Latvia decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:

‘(1)  Should the defendant’s activities, which consist in using a hyperlink to redirect end users to the applicant’s website, where they can consult a database of job advertisements, be interpreted as falling within the definition of ‘re-utilisation’ in Article 7(2)(b) of [Directive 96/9], more specifically, as the re-utilisation of the database by another form of transmission?

(2)  Should the information containing the meta tags that is shown in the defendant’s search engine be interpreted as falling within the definition of ‘extraction’ in Article 7(2)(a) of [Directive 96/9], more specifically, as the permanent or temporary transfer of all or a substantial part of the contents of a database to another medium by any means or in any form?’

The Court’s decision:

Article 7(1) and (2) of Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases must be interpreted as meaning that an internet search engine specialising in searching the contents of databases, which copies and indexes the whole or a substantial part of a database freely accessible on the internet and then allows its users to search that database on its own website according to criteria relevant to its content, is ‘extracting’ and ‘re-utilising’ that content within the meaning of that provision, which may be prohibited by the maker of such a database where those acts adversely affect its investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of that content, namely that they constitute a risk to the possibility of redeeming that investment through the normal operation of the database in question, which it is for the referring court to verify.

China joins the TMView database

EUIPO reports about the addition of the China national trademark database to the global database TMView. In that way additional 32 million trademarks are accessible through TMView which now covers more than 96 million trademarks from around the world.

This is definitely a good news for every company that plans to enter the China market with own brand. Searching for earlier already registered trademarks is a key element when it comes to avoiding unnecessary trademark conflicts.

Source: EUIPO.

New database for geographical indications – GIView

Marques Class 46 reports about a new tool for searching of geographical indications.

The new database, called GIview, is offered is offered by the EUIPO. It covers more than 5000 geographical indications from around the world. You can search based on their names or by country. The results can be shown as a list or as a map.

You can learn more for GIView from the video below.

Why keep an eye on your trademark protection?

This question can sound a bit strange. What means to keep an eye on a trademark?

Well, to be protected every trademark has to be registered with the Patent Office. Of course, there are some situations where even unregistered trademarks are protected to some extent but the general rule of thumb is that you have to register your sign as a trademark in order to take the full advantage of this protection.

Many people believe that after registration the work is done completely. But this is a wrong conclusion.

On the contrary. You need to do several things on a regular basis in order first for your protection to be active and second to prevent any infringements. After all the idea for the protection of a brand is this right to be enforced if it is necessary.

So what you need to do in that regard. There are two main essential things that have to be taken into account:

1. Do a trademark search on a regular basis. Why? Even though the trademark search is more known as an activity that helps to discover what are the chances for registration before filing an application, it is relevant for the time after registration too.  The reason is that by doing a regular search you will be able to see whether there are new identical or similar trademark applications to yours. This will allow you to file oppositions in time to stop these new similar marks that can create confusion amongst the consumers.
2. Store and manage your trademarks information well. It sounds basic as a recommendation but it is crucial for the mark’s protection. The reason is that every mark is registered but only for a limited term. In most cases for 10 years. After that, you need to renew the protection for the next period of 10 years. If you miss doing this you will lose your registration. Apart from this, you need to follow many Patent Office’s procedure rules as well as to be aware of how the mark is used and whether there are licenses for it. This requires good database management that will help you to accomplish this task easily.

So if we have to summarize, trademark protection requires more then just the act of registration. You need to be proactive in order for your trademark protection to be viable and active.

If you want to learn how to search for trademark in six countries, check this new Udemy course: Complete course on trademark search.

For building a trademark database you can check this another Udemy course: A complete guide on how to build an IP database using Asana.