The EUIPO ECP7 TMD Implementation Training project has organised, in collaboration with National IPOs and User Associations, including ECTA, a series of live webinars which will cover topics related to the implementation of the Trade Mark Directive and national practice in each country. The 2024 series of webinars will be broadcasted via Zoom Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 17 October to 14 December, and will be done in national language with simultaneous interpretation into English. Each presentation will take approximately 20 minutes plus 10 extra minutes for Q&A. In particular, the webinar organised with ECTA will be on 14 November (10.00-11.00 CET). During this session, Riina Pärn (Pärn & Partners, Estonia), a long-standing ECTA member, will discuss recent changes in trade mark application procedures and opposition procedure in the Baltic Countries. To find out more about the scheduled webinars and register for those you are interested in, please click here.

Register for the ECTA workshop ‘Make Up or Break Up? AI and IP: The Future of Our Profession’ in beautiful Seville (onsite only) on 11 October 2024 (16.00-18.00)! With the rise of AI, significant changes are expected in how IP professionals operate. Join us to hear from experts how IP legal teams can successfully navigate this evolving ecosystem and understand the impact of AI in the IP world. More information on the programme will be shared in the coming weeks. The participation fees are as follows: • 30,00 € (excl. VAT) for members who are not registered for the ECTA Autumn Meeting; • 50,00 € (excl. VAT) for non-members; • Free of charge for officials, full-time students, full-time professors. A certificate of attendance will be sent upon request after the event. (If you are a Supervisory Board or Committee member registered for the ECTA Autumn Meeting, you do not need to register separately for the workshop as it is included in the event!)

As per Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2399, starting 3 October 2024, right holders and their representatives must submit electronic Applications for Action (eAFAs) to customs exclusively through the IP Enforcement Portal (IPEP) or national portals in Germany, Italy, and Spain. These portals will be the sole platforms for filing and managing (amending, extending, or withdrawing) AFAs. Right holders who haven’t transitioned to these portals should do so promptly, as the acceptance of paper AFAs by Member States will soon end. Legal representatives can access IPEP via a ‘legal representative’ account, linked to a rights holder's account. They can also manage multiple rights holder accounts (detailed instructions for legal representatives are available here). To find out more, please read here.

Yesterday, ECTA took part in a number of in-person meetings with relevant DGs of the European Commission (DG GROW, DG TRADE, DG AGRI), to discuss important topics on the IP agenda in Europe at this moment, such as: • EU Patent Package • Ongoing trade negotiations, agreements, dialogues and cooperation projects; • IP future plans and initiatives in relation to SMEs; • New Regulation EU 2024/1143 for agri GIs and other initiatives affecting GIs; • and many other topics of interest to our members and related to ongoing projects within various ECTA Committees. The meetings were attended by ECTA President Carina Gommers; First Vice-President Paola Ruggiero; Second Vice-President Benjamin Fontaine; Secretary General Julien Scicluna; Treasurer Jordi Güell; Head of Legal Affairs Anna Ostanina.

We are pleased to inform ECTA members about the upcoming EUIPO-CPVO (Community Plant Variety Office) joint seminar titled "30 Years of Incentivising Innovation" scheduled for 19 September 2024, in Alicante and online. The seminar will delve into key topics such as IP strategies and their influence on the Single Market, the future of IP in the context of AI, the impact of new legislation and the challenges of counterfeiting. Experts from private practices, plant breeding, and public administrations will share insights on how intellectual property rights can contribute to sustainability and create positive impact in society. This event also marks the 30th anniversary of both the EUIPO and the CPVO, celebrating thel role of IP in fostering innovation. For more information and to register, please click here.

The AI Act has come into force. As the first-ever legal framework on AI, these new rules are designed to foster trustworthy AI in Europe and beyond, ensuring that AI systems respect fundamental rights and ethical principles, while addressing AI-related risks. To learn more, please read here

We are excited to announce another significant development in our association's scope of activities. During the ECTA Annual Conference in Antwerp, ECTA governing bodies decided to broaden our horizons into interest-based dispute resolution by establishing the new ECTA Mediation Committee. This decision follows the recent creation of the EUIPO Mediation Center and the growing use of mediation in IP disputes, as well as the expertise and interest in mediation detected among our members in the survey conducted earlier last year. We are now opening applications for ECTA members to join this Committee. If you are not a member but wish to join the Committee, please submit your ECTA membership application here first. ECTA members are invited to apply, if they have expertise in two or more of the following fields: • Experience as an external, independent, neutral mediator or representation of clients as counsel in mediation in at least 5-10 IP cases • Completion of specific training to work as a mediator • Certification of your training based on the regulations of a Member State of the EU • Experience working as a mediator in formal mediation proceedings of national or international authorities or organizations (e.g. WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, EUIPO Mediation Center) If you have the required expertise mentioned above or have other interest based dispute resolution experience and a keen interest in the topic and wish to join the new ECTA Mediation Committee, please apply here by 6 September! Results of the application process will be communicated to candidates in September. Selected candidates can serve on the Mediation Committee until the General Committee Elections in 2027, thus they will be automatically considered elected when we hold the General Committee Elections period in 2025. The first meeting of the ECTA Mediation Committee will be held online in October 2024 (exact date TBC), while the first physical meeting will be held during the ECTA Annual Conference in Berlin, 18-21 June 2025. *Please note that, according to our internal rules, ECTA members can participate in only one Committee at a time. If you are currently a member of another ECTA Committee but wish to join the ECTA Mediation Committee, be aware that the acceptance of your application to the Mediation Committee will automatically cancel your participation in your current Committee. We look forward to receiving your applications and enhancing ECTA expertise and members’ knowledge in this field.

By ECTA International Trade Committee EU has recently noticed that the Russian Government and Russian courts have been taking actions to illegitimately strip intellectual property rights from holders in Member States, giving the Russian industry an unfair competitive edge and boosting Russia's revenues, which in turn support its war efforts in Ukraine. To counteract this, Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 (Regulation) of 24 June 2024 “amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine” imposes restrictions on accepting intellectual property registration applications in the Union from Russian nationals, residents, and companies. Applications for registering IP rights of Russian Applicants shall not be accepted Article 5s of the Regulation provides that intellectual property offices and other competent institutions constituted under the law of a Member State, or the Union shall not accept: (a) new applications for registration of trademarks, patents, industrial designs, utility models, protected designations of origin, and geographical indications filed by Russian nationals or natural persons residing in Russia, or by legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia, including if jointly filed by a Russian national or natural persons residing in Russia, legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia with one or more non-Russian natural or legal person resident or established outside of Russia; (b) any requests or submissions filed by Russian nationals or natural persons residing in Russia, or by legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia during the registration procedures before such intellectual property offices related to any of the intellectual property rights referred to in point (a). These restrictions shall not apply to nationals of a Member State, of a country member of the European Economic Area or of Switzerland, or to natural persons having a temporary or permanent residence permit in a Member State, in a country member of the European Economic Area or in Switzerland. This means that intellectual property offices and other relevant institutions should not accept such applications. However, the offices are not required to formally refuse these applications, allowing for the possibility of re-filing once the restrictions are lifted. To enforce this restriction, the offices should be able to request necessary information from applicants to verify their eligibility. Additionally, the Regulation also requires EU companies to include in their contractual arrangements with third-country commercial parties an obligation that their transferred intellectual property rights, trade secrets, or protected materials and information will not be used, by them or their sublicensees in connection with high-priority items sold, supplied, or exported to Russia or for use in Russia. Companies must report any detected breaches to the national competent authorities. For contracts made before 25 June 2024, the obligation is considered fulfilled if the contract contains a general clause prohibiting the use of the specified intellectual property and trade secrets, along with adequate remedies for breaches. Do the new restrictions apply to pending applications and registrations? The Regulation does not explicitly mention whether the new restrictions apply to applications or registrations filed before the implementation of these rules. The text specifies that intellectual property offices and other competent institutions: 1. Shall not accept new applications for registration of various intellectual property rights (trademarks, patents, industrial designs, etc.) filed by Russian nationals or entities after the implementation of the rules. 2. Shall not accept any requests or submissions from Russian nationals or entities during the registration procedures after these rules are in effect. The emphasis is on "new applications" and actions "during the registration procedures," implying that these rules should apply to applications and requests made after the date of enforcement. Accordingly, it should be interpreted that existing applications or registrations filed before the implementation of these rules are not directly addressed by these provisions. ----- The views expressed are those of our members and not necessarily of ECTA as an association. The content has not been subjected to a verification process, the accuracy of the information contained in the article is responsibility of the author.

After an incredible time in Antwerp, we are thrilled to reveal that the ECTA 43rd Annual Conference, titled "Bears on the Loose", will roar into Berlin from 18 to 21 June 2025! Mark your calendars – we promise another unforgettable gathering you won't want to miss!

We are pleased to announce that the ECTA Presidency rotation took place during the 42nd Annual Conference in Antwerp. The new ECTA Board of Directors for the 2024-2026 term is as follows: • Carina Gommers, President Responsible for strategic direction and overall supervision • Paola Ruggiero, 1st Vice-President Responsible for the academic program of events • Benjamin Fontaine, 2nd Vice-President Responsible for general management of Committees • Julien Scicluna, Secretary General Responsible for administrative and contractual matters • Jordi Güell, Treasurer Responsible for financial matters We extend our heartfelt gratitude to former President Mladen Vukmir for his dedicated service, remarkable and visionary leadership over the past two years, and wish our new President Carina Gommers and the entire Board of Directors every success in the journey ahead! To consult the updated composition of the ECTA Supervisory Board following this year's election, please click here.

In this edition, you will find a welcome to Antwerp from ECTA President Mladen Vukmir as we look forward to the #ECTA42 Annual Conference later this week. Additionally, we feature an exclusive interview with Marianne Grabrucker, President of the Circle of European Trade Mark Judges, and insights from the ECTA webinar on trade secrets in the EU. We delve into the Chinese Classification System from the perspective of trade mark use, explore the requirements and impact of the US INFORM Consumers Act and the pending SHOP SAFE Act, as well as examine the impact on IP of EU Free Trade Agreements with Latin American countries. We also discuss the controversy surrounding the refresh of beloved and iconic brands. Further articles explore the interplay between AI, data protection, and trade secrets; geographical indications in India; the rising tide of counterfeits in India; and the protection of Maori trade marks in Aotearoa New Zealand. Learn about Brand Action - their amazing group of volunteers and presence at the ECTA Annual Conference. Get a sneak peek of the next ECTA Autumn Meeting in Seville and much more. Stay updated with ECTA Committee news and join us in welcoming our new members! A print-friendly version is available for members only in the Library section of the ECTA private site. We thank the ECTA Publications Committee for compiling another great issue. Enjoy reading it!

The ECTA Annual Conference is almost at full capacity, with only a few places remaining. If you haven't registered yet, do so quickly here to join over 900 IP professionals! The educational program is extensive, encompassing a variety of hot IP topics. Delegates will also engage in discussions on copycats in a session moderated by Julien Scicluna, ECTA Secretary General from France. 1. Introduce yourself and your link to ECTA. I have been a member of ECTA since 2006 and was involved in several Committees before chairing the International Trade Committee. I am now ECTA's Secretary General. 2. Introduce the topic of your Conference session. We will explore how to respond to copycats when the standard legal tools do not apply, or not fully. You know it is a copy, but it does not infringe on your rights, how do you act? We will consider the practitioner's point of view and that of industry. We will also delve into the mind of the consumer and see what neurosciences teach us on the likelihood of confusion. Watch out for the survey that will be circulated during the conference via the app and see the results during our session! 3. Introduce the panel of your Conference session. - Stoyan Sirakov is a seasoned IP Attorney from Bulgaria and a long-standing ECTA member. He will update us on the current practice in dealing with copycats throughout the EU. - Birte Vanrobaeys has a vast experience as an in-house Attorney at Versuni (The Netherlands) and will share her strategy in handling copycats. - Femke van Horen is Professor of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing at the Marketing Department of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands). She has applied her research to understanding product imitation and consumer behaviour. 4. Why should Conference participants join your session, and to whom in particular will your session be directed? This session is a must for all IP practitioners interested in this ‘grey area’ of IP law and in legally apprehending lookalikes. The input of fundamental research on the question is particularly stimulating and challenges our legal knowledge. 5. Why should IP colleagues register for the ECTA Annual Conference? As we often say, ECTA is Family and you don't want to miss out on our annual gathering, bringing together friends, networking and knowledge all wrapped up in a great place! **Find out more about the other educational sessions here or watch the video teaser about the academic program here!**

Coinciding with today’s World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, the EUIPO Observatory has launched the ‘Play Fair’ campaign on the negative effects of counterfeiting and piracy on the viability of sports and the sports sector. This year, Europe is the epicentre of sport events as the world is gearing up to watch UEFA EURO 2024, Tour de France as well as the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But as Europeans prepare to tune into the biggest broadcast sporting events, millions of them may do so illegally. According to an EUIPO study on EU citizens’ perception, awareness, and behaviour, 12% of EU citizens had accessed or streamed sports content from illegal sources. When it comes to youngsters aged 15-24, 27% admit to using illegal online channels to watch sports. Besides sports broadcasting, across the EU, fake sports equipment cost manufacturers €850 million per year, accounting for 11% of lost sales in the sector. 10% of young Europeans from 15-24 years old knowingly purchased fake sports equipment online. Last but not least, through a recent operation targeting counterfeit goods infringing well-known brands, police authorities throughout Europe detected and seized 8 million counterfeit sporting goods with an estimated retail value of €120 million. Find out more about this data and the EUIPO’s awareness campaign launched today here. --- ECTA recognises the significance of the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day in raising awareness about the realities and consequences of counterfeiting. Our association is dedicated to combating counterfeiting by sharing professional experience and best practices at the EU level and beyond, particularly through our Anti-Counterfeiting Committee.

The European Commission has just launched the public consultation on the Counterfeit and Piracy Watch-List, which will serve as a basis for the Commission’s Staff Working Document on the Counterfeit and Piracy Watch-List to be adopted in Q2 of 2025. The Watch-List list will identify and describe the reportedly most problematic marketplaces and service providers to encourage their operators and owners, as well as the responsible local authorities and governments to take the necessary actions and measures to reduce the availability of IPR infringing goods or services. The Watch-List will not be an exhaustive list and will not purport to make findings of legal violations. Should you be interested in contributing to this consultation, please submit your individual input HERE by 15 August 2024. In case of questions, please send an email to TRADE-COUNTERFEIT-AND-PIRACY-WATCH-LIST@ec.europa.eu.

The Council of Europe has adopted the first-ever international legally binding treaty on artificial intelligence aimed at ensuring the respect of human rights, the rule of law and democracy legal standards in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. More details can be found here.

We are pleased to inform our members that ECTA has recently filed its first Amicus Curiae Brief ever in the Referral by the EUIPO Executive Director of 22 February 2024, regarding the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal in the case R 1241/2020-4 of 9 September 2022, ‘Nightwatch’. The case, which will be heard by the EUIPO enlarged Board of Appeal (Grand Board), regards the Board’s decision that ‘conversion’ shall not be excluded under Article 139(2) EUTMR where the Office refuses an EUTM application and then the EUTM applicant withdraws its application during the appeal period without filing first an appeal. Since the Board decision contradicts the long-standing practice in the Office’s Guidelines concerning conversion of an EUTM, and the matter has not come before the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’), it was considered appropriate, in the interest of legal certainty and consistency, to obtain the Grand Board’s opinion which would bind the Boards of Appeals pursuant to Article 166(8) EUTMR and which would not be impeachable by any later Board of Appeal decision. Accordingly, the EUIPO Executive Director posed five questions to the Grand Board, which were analysed and answered by ECTA in the submitted brief, with the assistance of its ECTA Amicus Curiae Task Force. --- We wish to extend our gratitude to the ECTA Amicus Curiae Task Force for their dedicated efforts in compiling the recommendations for the Grand Board and for reaching this significant milestone in the history of our association.

We are pleased to inform ECTA members that the 2024 Europol IP Crime Conference, themed ‘Follow the Money to Fight IP Crime’, will be held in Madrid on 24-25 October 2024. The event, jointly organised by Europol, EUIPO, and the Spanish Guardia Civil, will bring together experts from law enforcement, private sector, and academia to discuss best practices, opportunities, and challenges in the fight against IP crime. Participation is free of charge. The venue and registration link will be communicated soon. Should you have any queries in the meantime, please send an email to observatory@euipo.europa.eu.

The ECTA Annual Conference is just around the corner! There is still a chance to register, hurry up and secure your spot here! Following the very recent adoption by the WIPO Member States of a new international WIPO Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, the Conference attendees will gain first-hand information on this historic development and discuss further how to protect traditional creativity and cultural expressions in a session moderated by Jordi Güell (GÜELL IP, Spain). 1. Introduce yourself and your link to ECTA. I am the Treasurer of ECTA and member of the Board of Directors. My involvement with ECTA dates back to 1996, when I attended my first ECTA Annual Conference in Alicante, the year when the EUIPO (at that time OHIM) started operating. I was very young at that time - In fact, it was the year when I started working in IP. 2. Introduce the topic of your Conference session. Indigenous art copied onto carpets, T-shirts and greeting cards, traditional music fused with techno-house dance rhythms to produce best-selling albums, handwoven carpets and handicrafts copied and sold as ‘authentic’, the process for making a traditional musical instrument patented, indigenous words and names trademarked and used commercially. These are the kinds of examples that Indigenous and other traditional and cultural communities cite when arguing that traditional creativity and cultural expressions require greater protection. Are they original works? Who do they belong to? Are they in the public domain? And most importantly, is intellectual property the best way to protect them? In this session, we will try to shed some light on this. 3. Introduce the panel of your Conference session. The session will start with a presentation from Edward Kwakwa, Assistant Director General of WIPO, who will introduce the topic and will brief us on the recent Treaty adopted by WIPO Member States on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between IP, genetic resources and traditional knowledge held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. It is a real privilege to have Mr Kwakwa on our panel. Marie Malaurie, Law Professor in Paris, will be speaking about the sensitive and political topic of cultural appropriation in the field of fashion. As an academic, Marie Malaurie's intervention will present the theoretical debates on the subject as well as the legal, national and international instruments. Finally, Nick Holmes, IP lawyer from Australia, will be speaking about the importance of Indigenous culture from an Australian and New Zealand perspective, contrasting significant differences between the recognition given to each country’s Indigenous peoples. His presentation aims to provide practical real-world discussion on why laws are not the only ways in which indigenous IP can be protected and how brand owners can work with indigenous artists collaboratively. Nick will also present examples of the Māori “haka” from his home country of Aotearoa New Zealand, which should wake up any tired ECTA attendees! 4. Why should Conference participants join your session, and at whom in particular will your session be directed? The session is addressed to all IP professionals who are interested in knowing more about the relationship between IP protection and the preservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage. 5. Why should IP colleagues register for the ECTA Annual Conference? ECTA combines top-quality sessions with a great atmosphere. This year, we will have around 900 attendees and we have prepared everything with the utmost care. The Gala Dinner at Handelsbeurs will be the cherry on top! **Find out more about the other educational sessions here or watch the video teaser about the academic program here!**

Today, in a landmark decision, WIPO Member States adopted a Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. This historic agreement concludes decades of negotiations that began at WIPO some 25 years ago. This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between IP, genetic resources and traditional knowledge held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The Treaty will come into force once it reaches 15 contracting parties, and will establish a new disclosure of origin requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge used in their inventions. ECTA closely followed these developments, and representatives of our association, Julien Scicluna (Secretary General) and Anna Ostanina (Head of Legal Affairs) attended the final stage negotiations during the Diplomatic Conference in Geneva from 13 to 24 May 2024. To find our more, please consult the official press release here.