08 December, 2007
Partner presents report to INTA Board
On November 7, as the chair of the Design Rights Subcommittee of International Trademark Association's (INTA) Emerging Issues Committee, WP's Peter Dernbach presented the Subcommittee's report to the INTA Board at the INTA's 2007 Leadeship Meeting held in Orlando Florida. The report addressed areas in which the legal regimes protecting designs complement or conflict with the laws protecting trademarks.
The Design Rights Subcommittee recommended that INTA continue to follow the issues in this developing area by extending the mandate of the Subcommittee. Among these was a recommendation that in its next term the Subcommittee focus on a pair of cases in the US courts that appear to be reviving the notion that the expiration of a design patent precludes subsequent protection of the design as a trademark. This is counter to the consensus in most other jurisdictions, and has serious implications for trademark and design owners.
The INTA Board accepted the Subcommittee's report and agreed with its recommendations.
For the 2008-2010 term, Peter has been appointed to the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the Non-Traditional Marks Committee. This subcommittee will look at the status of protection for non-traditional marks (e.g., sounds, scents) in East Asia and the Pacific.
