Culture news What a piece of art is a sandal? Birkenstock in legal German battle Can sandals be art? Birkenstock says yes, but a German court says no. 21/02/2025
Europe News ‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself’ can’t be trademarked: EU court The slogan uttered by a Ukrainian border guard on Snake Island has become a symbol of defiance against Russian aggression – but it’s more political than commercial, the EU judges said. 13/11/2024
Business Mbappé better than Messi and Ronaldo... in number of EU trademarks Mbappé owns seven EU trademarks, including his famous cross-armed pose, in comparison to six apiece for Messi and Ronaldo. 04/03/2024
Europe Decoded Exclusive: Fraud office handling complaints over EU agency jobs Two complaints made over past year cover several appointments, alleging irregularities in pre-selection, bias, nepotism and graft. 23/02/2024
Tech News Can AI companies legally mine the Internet for training content? Have AI companies already won on copyright issues? Some experts say they may have, though it may be decided on a case-by-case basis. 21/02/2024
Food and Drink Cheese wars: Président wins the Camembert skirmish In the latest Camembert skirmish, the international company Lactalis and its Président brand has emerged victorious. 26/10/2022
Food and Drink Feta cheese is Greek, EU's top court tells Denmark The European Union's top court has ruled against Denmark and says the country has mislabelled white cheese as "feta". 14/07/2022
Culture news Denmark misusing 'feta' name on cheese exports, says EU court adviser ‘Feta’ can only be used only for cheese originating in the specified geographical area in Greece and complying with the relevant product specification." 18/03/2022
France Google agrees new deal to pay French publishers for news content The copyright dispute between Big Tech and newspapers in France has raged for more than two years. 03/03/2022
Europe News EU to support targeted patent waiver on COVID vaccines, say sources The waiver could allow developing countries to manufacture their own COVID vaccines. 26/11/2021
Tech News France fines Google €500 million in copyright row with news publishers Google has two months to suggest ways to compensate news agencies and other publishers for using their content or face additional fines. 13/07/2021
India It's crucial world leaders break the monopoly on COVID vaccines | View "While it's true that an intellectual property waiver alone won’t fix shortages, it will be a crucial first step in ramping up the dispensation of vaccines." 07/06/2021
Vatican Vatican issues a street art stamp, ends up getting sued The Vatican is home to some of the greatest artworks ever made, and it vigorously enforces its copyright. But now the tables have turned, and the Vatican stands accused of violating the intellectual property rights of a street artist. 26/05/2021
World News What is the argument against lifting COVID vaccine patents? The US has backed plans to waive intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, but the idea faces stiff opposition. 06/05/2021
World News EU nations divided over lifting COVID-19 vaccine patents Commission president von der Leyen said the bloc would discuss the move, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office spoke out against it. 06/05/2021
Switzerland Euroviews. Intellectual property is becoming politicised. That’s why I am a candidate to run WIPO ǀ View On 4 March, do not vote by default for a candidate for political reasons. Vote for the continued survival of IP. And choose the best candidate who can enhance the organisation and best serve its member states. 02/03/2020
United Kingdom Euroviews. 50 years after the moon landing, protecting the space sector’s intellectual property is vital ǀ View We have seen a shift in innovation in the space sector from previously state-owned activities to now private [...] activities, operated by the likes of SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. As a consequence, the protection of intellectual property in the space sector is rapidly increasing. 02/08/2019