Low-cost filing platform Google Ads; lessons from Lululemon-TikTok Shop; and much more

Welcome to your Sunday recap of the week’s biggest developments in trademark and brand protection.

From the British Library’s licensing strategy to China’s first upcycling decision, here’s what shaped the IP landscape this week.

This Week’s Must-Reads

Revealed: low-cost filing sites continue to dominate Google trademark search (17 November)

A major investigation reveals continued Google advertising activity among low-cost trademark filing agencies, with one notorious organisation seemingly linked to more than 100 agencies.

Google Ads experts respond to continuing problem of suspicious low-cost trademark filers (17 November)

Google Ads experts claim the problem is whether the current systems are fit for purpose to stop bad actors effectively.

In-House Perspectives

Lessons from Lululemon’s TikTok Shop partnership (21 November)

Representatives from Lululemon and TikTok Shop explain how the “discovery e-commerce” platform is using collaboration and AI-powered audio and visual monitoring to combat counterfeits and dupes in live content.

How the British Library centres storytelling in its licensing strategy (20 November)

WTR sits down with the British Library’s partnerships lead for East Asia to discuss the organisation’s increasingly creative licensing strategy.

Japan’s Pigeon Corporation cuts out intermediaries to boost IP enforcement (20 November)

Pigeon’s IP manager explains why direct local counsel are key to cost control and strategic clarity.

From the Courts

China’s first upcycling ruling says patchwork bags still infringe luxury marks (18 November)

The Hangzhou Intermediate Court has ruled against a company that used second-hand bags to create goods partially featuring registered marks.

What can trademark claimants learn from the Getty Images decision? (22 November)

In the first of two Opinion Columns reflecting on the landmark Getty Images v Stability AI judgment, Taylor Wessing partner Anneka Dalton advises that future trademark claimants pursue “de-branding” or post-sale confusion claims against AI developers in the UK.

Why India should follow UK lead: AI model weights are not ‘copies’ (22 November)

In a second Opinion Column on Getty, Fidus Law Chambers managing partner Shwetasree Majumder argues that the Delhi High Court should follow the UK’s recent ruling when deciding on its own landmark case involving OpenAI.

Government & Policy

Plain packaging normalised for tobacco as vapes and “junk food” enter policymaker sights (18 November)

Plain packaging has become the global default for tobacco, and new evidence suggests policymakers are increasingly eyeing the same for vapes, alcohol and even confectionery.

Government report shows UK Border Force seized over half £1 billion of counterfeits in three years (18 November)

Although the volume of seizures decreased year-on-year, the retail value of seized items increased almost 41% between 2021 and 2023.

“Significant” CIPO advancements; BPTO examiner hires (19 November)

Our latest IP office news round-up also includes updates from IP Australia and the Korean Ministry of Intellectual Property. 

Brand Protection Intelligence

Grupo Bimbo wins DONUT dispute; INTA adopts four resolutions (21 November)

Four bite-sized news updates feature brands including Campbell’s, Parmigiano Reggiano and United Talent Agency.

Netflix filings up fourfold, while Meta significantly cuts back (20 November)

The WTR Brand Tracker series uses Corsearch data to shed light on the trademark strategies of 31 leading companies.

Two weeks to go: brand powerhouses unite in Singapore (18 November)

With an unmatched speaker line-up that includes experts from AMOREPACIFIC, Louis Vuitton and New Balance, this is not just another industry event. 

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