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Topics: Business enterprise

Images from Bored Wukong (left) and OpenSea via JournalTime

Rip-off or not: Bored Ape Yacht Club vs Bored Wukong


Another day, another kerfuffle in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — and this time, the fuss is all about cartoon monkeys. 
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is an NFT project that has attracted a lot of interest from celebrities. It comprises a collection of 10,000 illustrations of apes, and digital ownership of these gives buyers bragging rights, the ability to monetise their ape avatars v

Image from Christopher de Venecia's Facebook page

The important role of IP as Philippines aims to become Southeast Asia's top creative economy

In September 2021, the Philippines’ House of Representatives passed a landmark bill known as the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act. It could soon become a law, and its goal is nothing less than to make the country Southeast Asia's top creative economy by 2030.
Already, the Philippines’ creative sector is full of potential. In 2014, with little government support, the creative econo

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

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

Screen shot of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway website

India steps up IP protection for Darjeeling Himalayan Railway's century-old logos

Being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site can help to catalyse tourist interest, and thus generate value for a country’s economy. As these sites are regularly reviewed to assess whether their conservation status qualifies them for a continued place on this list, it also incentivises governments to prioritise the protection of their countries’ historical architecture and infrastructure. If one views

Image on left from Beautyblender website, image on right from Avon website

Rip-off or not: How teardrop-shaped make-up sponges became all the rage

In a 2016 lawsuit, beauty company Avon admitted liability for infringing on Rea.deeming Beauty’s intellectual property rights. The object in question was a hot pink make-up sponge that Avon had named “Beauty Blender”. And as all make-up buffs know, the most famous Beautyblender (yes, that’s how it’s officially spelled) was invented by Rea Ann Silva, the founder of Rea.deeming Beauty.
Let’s sta

Screen shot of Jessica Simpson's Instagram page

How Jessica Simpson regained full ownership of her fashion label

Much of the world may still know Jessica Simpson as a 1990s pop star turned reality show personality. But since 2005, she has also been a retail entrepreneur, and a very successful one at that, having steered the Jessica Simpson Collection with different business partners. And now, after years of problems with her most recent licensing partner, she has bought back full ownership of the label that

Let your clients get the idea, without taking it.

PitchMark deters idea theft and provides you with options if it happens.

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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