New Chinese shopping agent to watch; USPTO proposed fee change warning; filings decline at major registers; and much more

Everything we covered on WTR over the past seven days, and all you need to know from the world of trademarks to set yourself up for the start of another busy week.

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Long Read

Trademark activity drops across all but one major register, an annual report by Clarivate shows.

Monday 27 May

A NO FAKES hearing, China’s plan for the authorities, and Vietnam’s new administrative sanctions feature in this month’s legislation and policy watch. 

Tuesday 28 May 

WTR Global Leaders discuss how to protect clients from recent scams targeting US trademark applicants.

Nike wins $1 million in an influencer dispute, Manila mall makes a counterfeits pledge, BharatPe and PhonePe settle their suffix dispute, and more.

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Wednesday 29 May

The UK Intellectual Property Office pauses communications ahead of the country’s general election, the USPTO deepens cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Yemen revises its trademark fees, and more.

The US Federal Circuit applies a new flexibility to design patent obviousness, which could expose designs to more validity challenges and benefit counterfeiters.

WTR speaks to Ling Yah Wong, host and producer of the So This Is My Why podcast, about the transferable skills and knowledge that she gained from a career in intellectual property.

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Thursday 30 May

New Chinese shopping agent Hoobuy targets counterfeit buyers after the recent Pandabuy raid.

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Friday 31 May

The USPTO’s proposed fee change rule will “violate” the Madrid Protocol, WIPO argues.

Northern Illinois is 100% more likely to grant preliminary injunctions in copyright cases than Central California, data analysis shows.

Nike’s three-stripe decision is overturned, Wordle challenges WORLDLE, Ronaldo scores an NFT collection, and more.

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Saturday 1 June

The next level of AI – known as artificial general, then super-human, intelligence – will require a complete re-think of intellectual property and the IP system, argues Clark W Lackert, deputy general counsel at the World Trade Centers Association, in this week’s opinion column. 

Special Report

WTR’s latest Special Report examines the future of brand protection on social media, offering insights and strategies to help brand owners mitigate the risks and seize new opportunities for brand growth in an evolving digital world.