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Can NFTs in Virtual Space Infringe ‘Real’ Trademarks?

Can NFTs in Virtual Space Infringe ‘Real’ Trademarks?

The trial in the case Hermès International v. Mason Rothschild [22-CV-384 (JSR) (S.D.N.Y. May. 18, 2022)] has begun on 30th January 2023 in the District Court of Southern District of New York. The case, the first of its kind, raises pertinent questions regarding the intersection between Trademark and Non-Fungible Tokens and the exception of artistic expressions under the Rogers Test. The discussion on the issues in the case has been summarised in this blog. Continue Reading Can NFTs in Virtual…

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The featured image shows the word censored written in white letters on a grey background. The post relates to the recent row between producers of udta punjab and CBFC. To know more, please click here.

Freedom of expression and Censorship

  The Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) discomfort to allow filmmakers’ “freedom of expression” has been a subject of clash quite often, with the recent one involving the producers of the film Udta Punjab, a drug abuse themed film, who approached the Bombay High Court challenging the order of CBFC asking it to delete different items, words, references etc.The Court said that CBFC’s power is to only certify movies for public exhibition and not to censor them. The parties have…

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The featured image is of the trademark symbols- tm, r . The post is abouT change in the name of Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) to European Union Intellectual Property Office. please click here to read more.

The First Amendment strikes again

  The Slants, an Asian-American rock band, founded by Simon Tam, had applied for  the registration of their band name as a trademark. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) however, refused to grant THE SLANTS trademark registration under §2(a), which bars registration for marks “[c]onsist[ing] of or compris[ing] … matter which may disparage … persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” It stated that the mark was denied registration for being…

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