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How the war in Ukraine is changing IP laws in Russia and beyond

Countries around the world have levied heavy sanctions on Russia ever since it invaded Ukraine. Some multinational companies have also halted their operations in the country. In turn, Russia has retaliated with a series of bans and even changed its intellectual property laws.
Many movie studios in the West have refused to release new movies in Russia. Warner Bros had planned to release The Batm

Photo by Austin Neill on Unsplash

NFTs are the latest frontier in musicians’ long battle to gain control over their IP

In the music business, the ownership of intellectual property has often been a controversial subject, and that’s all because of the lopsided balance of control. In short, record companies tend to seize most of the control. But that might change, if start-ups pushing ownership models based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) take off.
In the short amount of time that NFTs have become a trending topic

Photo by Bogomil Mihaylov on Unsplash

Funny business: Comedians seek royalties for their IP

Should comedians get paid like musicians and receive royalties from platforms that profit from their material? That's certainly a payment model that one group is championing. According to the Wall Street Journal, a group of comedians, led by global rights administration company, Spoken Giants, wants to be paid royalties when their jokes are played on radio and streaming services such as Spotify an

Posters of the film Anita

Who owns the IP rights to HK icon Anita Mui’s life and legacy?

Anita, a biopic about Hong Kong pop icon Anita Mui, drew critical praise and achieved commercial success when it was released last year. However, the movie has also sparked litigation from the late entertainer’s brother, who claims that the film’s production company has infringed on his rights over two registered trademarks.
According to the South China Morning Post, Peter Mui, Anita’s elder b

Photo from Stig Havard Dirdal Instagram Account

Rip-off or not: Makers of Russian movie Yolki 8 accused of copying "human Christmas tree" photo concept

Social media is filled with photos and videos used by people who do not seek permission from the original creators. Most recently, for example, a Russian production house was pinpointed as having copied the original concept of a photographer without bothering to tweak the original concept even slightly.
In December 2015, photographer Stig Havard Dirdal was hired by the Norwegian camera store St

Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash

High Court dismisses claim for copyright infringement in pop song

The following article by Rachel Alexander was first published here by Wiggin, a UK based firm focused on the practice of media, technology and intellectual property law. It is re-published here with Wiggin's permission.

The claimant, Kelly-Marie Smith, is the composer and lyricist of a song, “Can You Tell Me”. The song was never released commercially, but in October 2007 Ms Smith perform

Photo from StockX website

Nike sues StockX for violating trademarks over NFTs

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs continue to be in vogue in 2022, but so have the confusions and legal issues arising from them. In the latest round of actions, Nike has sued StockX for violating trademarks by selling its digital tokens without permission.
StockX is a US-based online resale marketplace that sells streetwear, handbags, and other goods, valued at about US$3.8 billion. In January, it

Photo by Marius Masalar on Unsplash

High Court grants first website blocking order in relation to stream ripping sites

The following article by Rachel Alexander was first published here by Wiggin, a UK based firm focused on the practice of media, technology and intellectual property law. It is re-published here with Wiggin's permission.

The claimant record companies issued proceedings against the six main internet service providers in the UK seeking an order pursuant to s 97A of the Copyright, Designs

Screen shot of British Museum website

Museums are licensing images of ancient relics and other masterpieces. But who really owns this IP?

Celebrating the Lunar New Year in China is an old tradition, but in recent years, it has also become an occasion for using new technology, most notably through the gifting of digital hongbaos (the name for red paper packets containing money) using different e-wallet platforms.
This year, the enterprising fintech innovators of China have come up with yet another new way to mark the festive seas

Image from Spanx Facebook page

Spanx’s founder couldn’t afford a patent attorney. So she figured out how to protect her IP herself.

Twenty years ago, American entrepreneur Sara Blakely launched a business selling shapewear that was more comfortable and more effective than anything else on the market at the time. She called the brand Spanx. And in 2021, she sold a majority share of this business to investment company Blackstone, bringing her net worth to over US$1 billion.
Blakely couldn’t have grown her business without tre

Screen shot of Wordle website

Rip-off or not: Wordle and the word games it inspired

Wordle is the new sensation sweeping the Internet, and it all boils down to its resolutely simple rules. This word game is hosted on an ad-free website, you can only play it once a day, and the creator has no intention of making the game addictive or viral. There isn’t even an app version — at least not an official one.
Still, this game of guessing a different five-letter English word each day

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

Singapore association launches guide to best practices in pitching

Here’s a subject close to the hearts of all innovators whose livelihoods depend on successfully pitching their original ideas to potential clients — what are some key guidelines that can make productive working relationships more likely?
To address this issue, the Association of Advertising and Marketing Singapore (AAMS) and global marketing consultancy R3 have developed a Pitch Best Practices

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Let your clients get the idea, without taking it.

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PitchMark protects the expression of your original concepts, designs, proposals, business plans, creative pitches, music - in short, any idea that you conceived and published, and claim as your own. It gives you peace-of-mind by signalling to whoever you share it with that you are its creator, and that you wish to be respected as such.

If you receive or evaluate ideas or pitches, join PitchMark as a sign of your commitment to respect the Intellectual Property rights of their creators. Attract more in-depth pitches from a wider range of sources. Highlight your PitchMark membership in your Sustainability or CSR Report.

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