NEWS Customs begin testing EU enforcement database
Customs authorities have begun testing an IT database that aims to support rights owners in their fight against infringement in the EU.
Nine organisations are believed to be piloting the enforcement database, a central repository of information about trademark and design owners’ products, which is managed by the EU Observatory.
Te first pilot phase opened in June this year, allowing rights owners to fill the database with information, but now customs officials have their chance to use the system before it launches fully in April next year.
Managed by the Observatory, an anti- counterfeiting and piracy unit of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, the database provides a bridge between brands and customs officials. Rights holders can submit pictures, company details or other information they believe to be relevant and useful for tackling infringement.
Te database is free to use, but rights owners must have a registered trademark or design to set up an account.
While customs authorities are testing the database, work is continuing at the Observatory to incorporate it into the secure EU customs network (CCN/CSI), providing EU officers with easy and direct access to brands’ information.
In contrast to other anti-infringement databases, the enforcement database is free and intended to be a simple and proactive measure, said Heather Williams, senior associate at law firm Appleyard Lees.
“It’s user-friendly—you can pick and choose who sees your information,” she said.
“Any information will be translated into the official EU languages,” she added, “so officials can use their local languages.”
Te benefits for brands will depend on the quality of the information they upload, Williams
Company sues 16 big hitters over computer patent
Apple and Amazon are two of 16 companies that have been sued over the alleged infringement of a computer-based patent.
Long Corner Consumer Electronics, which appears to be a non-practising entity (NPE), has claimed that numerous smartphones, tablets and e-book readers, including the iPad and Kindle Fire HD, read on its invention.
Called a “System, device, and method for extending a stroke of a computer pointing
device,” the patent, granted in 2010, was invented by a man called Aaron Grunberger.
Long Corner filed 16 separate but identical suits in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall division on November 26, seeking injunctive relief and damages.
Te remaining defendants are: Acer; ASUS Computer International; Barnes & Noble; BlackBerry; Coolpad Technologies; Fuhu; Fujitsu; HTC; Huawei; Kyocera
Communications; Lenovo; LG Electronics; Panasonic; and ViewSonic.
According to the complaint, the defendants have infringed and continue to directly infringe one or more claims of the ‘483 patent, including at least claim one (of 20).
It adds: “Generally for descriptive purposes, and without limitation in any way, characteristics of the accused instrumentalities include a sensor (for example, an accelerometer and/or a gyroscope), an input element (for example, a touch screen), and auto-rotation capability with the ability to inhibit such auto-rotation.”
But as noted by the blog Patently Apple, which was reporting on the complaint against Apple, the patent’s specification does not match the language discussed in the lawsuit.
“It's interesting to note that words ‘accelerometer’, ‘gyroscope’ and ‘auto-rotation’ that are found in the plaintiff's complaint are nowhere to be found in the plaintiff's patent,” the site said.
Te law firm representing the complainant, which does not appear to have a website but is registered in Texas, is Tadlock Law Firm PLLC. n
6 Trademarks Brands and the Internet Volume 2, Issue 4
www.worldipreview.com
said, because if rights owners don’t use it, customs officials “may not use it either”.
She added: “Te database is a simple concept, and it will not replace existing legal procedures in place at customs.
“But if brands sign up, it will help to detect counterfeit goods. It will take time to gain momentum, but it should be attractive to rights owners,” Williams said. n
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