From time to time I have been asked about the copyright position regarding graphic representations of signs which constitute artwork (sketches, photographs, representations of three-dimensional objects etc) are deposited by Community and trade mark applicants with a granting office.  Numerous questions arise in this context.  For example,

* can it be assumed that the publication of a sign in a register, and subsequently in the text of judicial or quasi-judicial decisions concerning it, is a permitted act regardless of whether the owner of the sign is the owner of the copyright?

* is a use of a sign in the course of lawful comparative advertising implicitly a permitted use of a copyright work if that use does not infringe the trade mark?

* is the use of a sign regarded as a permitted act with regard to its copyright when it is included for illustrative purposes in articles in law journals, trade magazines or newspapers?