From Messi to Banksy
Registering a trademark is often the first step when entering the market, undertaken by small and big enterprises, as well as “average joes” and superstars. Whether the trademark registration will succeed, however, is not dependent only on the characteristics of the sign or a word to be registered, but sometimes also on the applicant’s special characteristics, such as e.g. extreme fame or their anonymity.
The question of how the applicant’s fame and anonymity can affect trademark protection was discussed by Timotej Kotnik Jesih through the analysis of recent cases involving the footballer Lionel Messi and Banksy, the street artist. His article “From Messi to Banksy: how fame and anonymity of trademark applicants affect trademark protection” was published in Pravna praksa (pp. 14-15) on 15 October 2020.
The article in its entirety (in Slovene) is accessible here.
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that maintains the Open Library, a digital library index, and is dedicated to preserving knowledge. As many of the works in the Internet Archive are under copyright, the Archive uses a system of controlled digital lending based on digital rights management to prevent unauthorized downloading or copying of copyrighted books. In March 2020, due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive established the National Emergency Library, eliminating the waiting lists used in the Open Library and expanding access to books for all readers. In June 2020, the Emergency National Library faced a lawsuit from four book publishers and was ultimately closed.
The 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (hereinafter SCCR) made substantial progress on the issues advocated by the A2K Coalition (Access to Knowledge Coalition), which IPI is a member of. This year’s session was the most productive on the issues of exceptions and limitations. James Love (Knowledge Ecology International), a long-time observer at WIPO, described the outcome and the impact of the public interest community as the strongest since the conclusion of the Marrakech Treaty, which brought global copyright exceptions for the benefit of the blind and visually impaired.
Today, March 17, 2023, a symposium on law in the information society is taking place in the golden lecture hall of the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič will present copyright aspects of artificial intelligence at the symposium.
The third day of the 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is intended for discussion on the topic of exceptions and limitations to copyright, especially in connection with the right to research.