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The HouseMARQUES interview: Ingrid De Groot
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 MARQUES Internal Relations Officer Ingrid De Groot talks about her role and about managing the MARQUES website as Web Content Manager, picks out some of her highlights from the past 10 years and explains why her job sometimes requires diplomacy.
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Field Notes from the Outer Borders
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The IP Outer Borders Team collects and reports on unusual trade marks from around the globe. This month: the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra creates a sound logo.
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WIPO SCT – Designs Team report
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German Design Act modernised
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 MARQUES participated in the 30th meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) in November 2013 in Geneva. Peter Gustav Olson from MAQS Law Firm in Copenhagen represented MARQUES.
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With the new German Design Act, which will enter into force on January 1, 2014, a number of significant changes and new innovations will come into force.
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Common Communication on class headings
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 OHIM's Common Communication on the Common Practice on the General Indications of the Nice Class Headings was published on 20th November.
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The Common Communication describes the new common practice on the acceptability of the general indications of the Nice Class headings. It represents the outcome of one of the five Convergence Programme projects undertaken by OHIM in collaboration with the national IP offices of the European Union, Norway and Switzerland, with the involvement of WIPO and representatives of user associations, including MARQUES.
It is available on the OHIM website, as well as the websites of all the national IP offices in Europe, and that of Norway. Of the total 197 general indications of the Nice class headings that were subject to review, 11 - whether partly or totally - have been found not sufficiently clear and precise without due specification. The Common Communication enumerates the 11 non-acceptable terms and the justification for their non-acceptability. Tools such as the TMclass are available to assist in searching for and identifying acceptable terms.
All European Union national IP offices, as well as OHIM and Norway, will implement the new practice. Implementation of the new Common Practice will take place within three months of the date of publication of this Common communication, which was 20th November. In exceptional cases this period can be extended for another three months. It is noted that at the OHIM the new practice has been effective as of 25th November.
The offices have agreed that the CJEU judgment in IP TRANSLATOR should not have a retrospective effect requiring that the register be changed ex officio with respect to registrations that contain one or more of these non-acceptable 11 general indications prior to the implementation of this communication.
In a letter to users associations, including MARQUES, dated 21st November, OHIM President Antonio Campinos said: “As discussion, debate and consensus building on interpreting rulings such as IP Translator [Case C-307/10], become more commonplace, communication of the resulting decisions has become increasingly important.”
The Common Communications are released by participating offices and are designed to provide consistent and reliable information to all stakeholders.
A previous Common Communication on the Implementation of ‘IP Translator’, describing how EU IP offices interpret the scope of protection of their national and Community trade marks filed before and after ‘IP Translator’ has also been updated. The new version is available online, and includes tabulated schemes showing how trade marks filed before and after IP Translator will be treated in different offices.
This new item is based on the Class 46 post written by Jeremy Phillips on November 20, which contains more details.
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New common practice on B&W marks
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 Under a new common practice endorsed by the OHIM Administrative Board on 19th November 2013, black and white marks no longer automatically cover all colours.
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OHIM perceptions survey published
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New OHIM website launched
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Nine out of 10 Europeans have not bought counterfeit products or downloaded illegally in the past 12 months, according to a report on perceptions of IP published by OHIM in November
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 OHIM’s new website was launched on 2nd December.
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WIPO report examines brands
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MARQUES Media Roundup
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Investment in branding comes to nearly $0.5 trillion a year, exceeding investments on R&D and design, according to WIPO’s latest World Intellectual Property Report, published in November.
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 Follow twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the blogs Class 46 and Class 99 for the latest news and debate around trade marks.
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Issue 035
