Applied Marks: IPH’s Unique Online Trademark Registration Platform
By Julius Melnitzer | February 10, 2026 “Many business owners believe that having a company name, a domain name, and/or a trading name provides them with the exclusive right to promote their brand. But only trademark registration affords the legal right to a brand name.” — Binh Rey IPH Limited is an intellectual property (IP) services network […]
When Patent Law Meets Competition Law
By Julius Melnitzer | February 6, 2026 “Competition issues can arise at various points in the patent life cycle, including the filing stage, during licensing or commercialisation, litigation, and with respect to distribution practices.” – Chen Li Patent law confers exclusivity. Competition law shuns monopolies. The two are bound to clash. “Competition issues can arise at […]
Patent Term Adjustment in Canada and the US: A Comparison
By Julius Melnitzer | February 3, 2026 “Applicant behaviour during prosecution has little bearing on PTA in most instances in Canada.” — Jeff Leuschner Patent term adjustment (PTA)—the mechanism that extends a patent’s term beyond the usual 20-year expiry date when granting authorities have unreasonably delayed its issue—is now available in Canada, more than a quarter […]
Coping with the “Not Inherently Distinctive” Objection in the Canada Trademarks Act
By Julius Melnitzer | January 8, 2026 The NID objection is seen as a unique barrier to doing business in Canada – Elliott Gold Since the 2019 wholesale amendments to Canada’s Trademarks Act introduced the “not inherently distinctive” (NID) objection to trademark (TM) registration, which gave examiners the power to adjudicate distinctiveness at the prosecution stage, it has […]
AI-Driven Trademark Searches: A Necessity Turned Weaponry?
By Julius Melnitzer | December 22, 2025 “More things are becoming potentially discoverable in trademark searches, and faster, because of how interconnected we are and how much we live our lives, and conduct our commerce, over the internet” — Tamara Céline Winegust Artificial intelligence (AI) is turning trademark (TM) watching from a tedious necessity to a strategic […]
Art & IP Law in the Digital Age
By Julius Melnitzer | December 21, 2025 “The digital age simply provides a new context for traditional IP questions around authorship, originality, ownership, and the fair use of art” — Eloise Calder In an increasingly digital world, technologies like generative AI have made efficiency key, amplifying the desire for instant gratification and shortening attention spans – […]
China’s New Draft Trademark Law Strengthens Brand Protection
“To navigate the new regime effectively, registered trademark owners must proactively maintain evidence of use, monitor third-party filings, and act swiftly against infringements.” – Amy Chan By Julius Melnitzer | November 7, 2025 China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has proposed a new law aimed at strengthening trademark protection. From the perspective of foreign businesses and […]
Duping the Dupes: An IP Rights Holder’s Combat Strategy
“Fast fashion, fast beauty, and the like have combined with the rise of social media influencers who can quickly promote low-cost goods in ways never seen before to create a perfect competitive storm for rights holders.” – Thomas Huthwaite By Julius Melnitzer | November 6, 2025 Monitoring “dupes”—products that mimic the look, feel and function of […]
IP Disputes: To Arbitrate or Not?
“Arbitration in multi-jurisdictional IP disputes helps avoid inconsistent outcomes and duplication of work, and promotes streamlining of resources, all under the watchful eye of a neutral expert in the field as opposed to a national court that could be seen by one side as partial.” — Fortunat Nadima The expanding commercialisation of intellectual property (IP) rights—through […]
Federal Circuit Provides First Guidance on AIA Derivation Proceedings
By Julius Melnitzer | October 16, 2025 The Board focused on who had been first-to-invent as opposed to who was first-to-conceive – Joshua Spicer The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued its first decision relating to derivation proceedings under the America Invents Act (AIA). These proceedings, litigated at the Patent Trial […]