Licences in OHIM practice

Legal context: Despite the commercial importance of licences, the Regulation40/94 contains relatively few provisions on licences. As faras these refer to licences granted to CTMs or their recordalat OHIM, they are beyond the scope of the article, which dealswith the case law emanating from OHIM in inter partes proceedings,where licences have played a role. Key points: This article considers the legal requirements licensees mustmeet when filing opposition and cancellation proceedings beforeOHIM. It reviews when use under licence is regarded as genuineuse, or valid for the purpose of establishing acquired distinctivenessor reputation. It also deals with OHIM decisions regarding licenseesfiling the licensors' trade marks in their own names. Practical significance: With respect to the standing of licensees as opponents or applicantsfor invalidity, this article explains the procedural requirements,mentioning also points to be considered when drafting trademark licences. The article also explains to what extent a licenceneed be proven where the opponent or cancellation applicanthas not used the earlier mark himself but wishes to rely onuse made by someone else. On the issue of a licensee filingthe licensed mark in his own name, the article gives an introductionto the criteria applied by OHIM and deals with his fiduciaryposition, resulting in a greater likelihood of his having actedin bad faith.     

VORSPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK ineligible for CTM registration

OHIM refused registration as a Community trade mark of the wordsVORSPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK in the name of Audi AG for goods andservices in Classes 9, 14, 25, 28, 37–40, and 42 on thegrounds that the mark was devoid of any distinctive character.Audi's action for annulment of this decision was dismissed bythe CFI.     

Community trade mark case law round-up 2006

Legal Context: This article looks at the important decisions of 2006 on theCommunity Trade Mark made by the Court of First Instance, theEuropean Court of Justice and the OHIM. These cases concernthe application of Council Regulation 40/94 on the CommunityTrade Mark, and also preliminary rulings from the European Courtof Justice on the interpretation of Council Directive 89/104(the Trade Mark Directive). Key Points: The volume of case law relating to Community trade marks, notto mention the variety of official languages in which the lawis interpreted, makes it almost impossible for even the conscientiouspractitioner to keep abreast with developments as they occur. This article provides an overview of the shifts in Communitytrade mark practice, in terms of not only the relatively accessiblesubstantive law but also the far more diffuse areas of procedurallaw and Office practice. In seeking to review and explain these shifts, the authors haveadopted a view of the case law that is functional rather thanphilosophical. In doing so, they lay bare the manner in whichthe institutions that administer and adjudicate Community trademark issues interrelate to one another. Practical Significance: Practitioners can quickly find the important decisions from2006 relating to particular articles of the Council Regulation40/94 on the Community Trade Mark. This article provides an overview of the most significant trademark cases decided in 2006 by the European Courts of Justiceand the OHIM Boards of Appeal. The article enables practitionersto access rapidly the key decisions of 2006. The cases discussed concern the application of Council Regulation40/94 on the Community trade mark (‘CTMR’), CommissionRegulation 2868/95 implementing the CTMR (‘CTMIR’),and Council Directive 89/104 (the ‘Trade Mark Directive’).     

Band divided--the dispute surrounding the applications for the registration of 'Frankie Goes To Hollywood' as both UK and Community trade marks

Both the UKIPO and OHIM rule in favour of the opposition broughtby a group of reunited band members against an application bya sole former member to register the band's name as a trademark.     

Community registered design invalidated by prior registered trade mark

In a series of four decisions, the OHIM Invalidity Divisionhas declared invalid Community registered designs 00016245-0001to 0004 in the light of international trade mark registration810732, designating various European Union Member States. Thisis believed to be the first time that a Community registereddesign has been declared invalid on the basis of an earliertrade mark right.     

Enforcement of Community Designs by Alicante courts: a promising start

LEGAL CONTEXT: Within the context of the European Union legal framework ofdesigns, the Community Designs Regulation has been operatingsince March 2002. Since April 2003, the first Registered CommunityDesigns were published by the Alicante-based OHIM. From thespringtime of 2004, the first decisions issued by OHIM relatedto invalidity of designs were published. KEY POINTS: Enforcement of Community Designs is a matter for national courtsto deal with it, since no Community-wide judicial system wasset. National "Community Design Courts", as they are called,were set in each Member State with jurisdiction to hear infringementcases and make decisions with cross-border effect. PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: For holders of Community designs, the first cases decided bythe Spanish Community Designs Courts are specially relevantsince holders have a legitimate expectation, on the basis ofthe first decisions adopted since September 2004, to see theirdesigns effectively enforced. The consolidation of the Communitydesign system will very much depend on the effectiveness ofenforcement by courts like the one in Alicante, which has shown,not only a clear readiness to protect CTM owners, but now also,Community design holders.     

Voluntary and involuntary care: three-year study of demographic and diagnostic admission statistics at an inner-city adult psychiatry unit

Individuals with mental disorders can, under specific circumstances, be detained and treated against their wishes. In 2009, there were 1633 involuntary admissions in Ireland, accounting for 8.1% of all psychiatric admissions. We examined demographic and diagnostic factors associated with involuntary admission in a general adult psychiatry service in Dublin's north inner-city over a retrospective three-year period. The overall admission rate was 450.5 admissions per 100,000 population per year (deprivation-adjusted rate: 345.7), which is lower than the national rate (476.3). The involuntary admission rate was 67.7 (deprivation-adjusted rate: 51.9), which is higher than the national rate (38.5). Fifteen per cent of admissions were involuntary (for all or part of the admission), which is higher than the national proportion (8.1%) but the same as that reported in another inner-city psychiatry service (15.7%). The proportion of admissions that was involuntary was higher amongst individuals from outside Ireland (33.9%) compared to those from Ireland (12.0%) (p<0.001). Country of origin was, however, related to diagnosis: 53.2% of admissions of individuals from outside Ireland were with schizophrenia, compared to 18.5% of admissions of individuals from Ireland (p<0.001). Diagnosis was, in turn, related to admission status: 37.5% of admissions with schizophrenia were involuntary compared to 15% overall (p<0.001). On multi-variable testing, diagnosis was the only independent predictor of admission status (p=0.01) (R(2)=35.2%); country of origin was not an independent predictor of admission status. Deprivation accounts for part, but not all, of the high rate of involuntary admission in Dublin's inner-city. Diagnosis accounts for one third of the variance in admission status between individuals. Further study is required to determine what factors account for the remaining two thirds (e.g. symptoms, insight) and to clarify better the relationships between admission status, diagnosis and country of origin. There is a strong need for enhanced focus on the mental health needs of individuals from outside of Ireland, especially in Dublin's north inner-city.     

Test of an alternative method for determining sex from the os coxae: applications for modern Americans

A recently proposed method for determining sex from the os coxae reports a 98% success rate using European collections. The purposes of the present study are to (1) evaluate the success rate of this proposed method using modern American os coxae from different population subgroups; (2) compare the success rate of the new method with that obtained using traditional techniques; and (3) determine replicability of the new method and interobserver error. Eight hundred and seventy-six adult left os coxae were independently evaluated by both authors. Summary statistics for sex classifications were calculated for the total sample and for a random sample of 400 individuals. The impact of sex and ancestry on the success of each method was calculated on the random sample using Pearson's chi2 values. Results demonstrate that for modern American os coxae, neither sex nor race have a significant impact on the success rate for either the new or traditional methods (p < 0.01). Additionally, the success rate of the new method is comparable with that obtained using traditional techniques. Finally, interobserver error using the new method for overall sex determination is low.     

Mutation in Y STRs: Repeat motif gains vs. losses

Y chromosome specific short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are widely used in population genetics and forensics. Since these markers do not recombine, mutation is the only source of diversity. The primary mutational mechanism leading to length changes in STRs is thought to be polymerase template slippage, and the most common change is the gain or the loss of one repeat motif. In this work, we aim to study 19 Y-STR alleles’ contraction and expansion. Alleles were grouped into tertiles: short (1^st tertile), intermediate (2^nd tertile) and long alleles (3^rd tertile). Significant differences between repeat gains and losses were found at four markers - DYS19, DYS439 for intermediate alleles, and DYS570 and DYS626 for long alleles. When the average number is computed for the pooled loci, for short alleles, the number of repeat motif gains is higher than of repeat losses, and the opposite happens for long alleles. For intermediate alleles, the proportion between the number of repeat gains and losses is close to one. Generally, the rate of expansion decreases from the first tertile to the third, and conversely, the rate of contraction increases from the first tertile to the third. The pooled loci tertiles’ mutation rate increases from short to long alleles. Our results demonstrate that the mutation direction and rate depend on alleles’ length. The longer the allele the greater the mutation and contraction rates.     

Cultural influence on the incidence and choice of method of suicide in Saudi Arabia.

The present study was undertaken to explore how racial and cultural factors could possibly influence suicidal rates and patterns in Saudi Arabia. During the 10-year period from 1986 to 1995, 221 cases of suicide were examined at the Medico-legal Center, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The suicide rate for the entire population averaged 1.1/100,000 population per annum. The male-to-female ratio was 4.5:1. The highest suicide rate was among the age group from 30 to 39 years (44.3%), followed by the age group from 20 to 29 years (32.6%), and the lowest suicide rate was among the age group <20 years (1.8%). The rate in the group >60 years was also low (3.2%). Immigrants formed 77% of the cases, and of these, Asians accounted for 70% of the overall cases and Indians showed the highest suicidal rates (43%). The most common means of suicide chosen was hanging (63%), followed by jumping from heights (12%) and gunshot injuries (9%); death from poisoning accounted for only 6% of cases. This study showed an increasing rate of suicide during the second 5-year period compared with the first 5-year period.     

Detection of Mitragynine in Mitragyna Speciosa (Kratom) Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy with Handheld Devices

A simple, quick, selective, sensitive, and effective field-friendly method capable of being used by nonexperts has been developed for detecting mitragynine in Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Over 100 samples and blanks (known to be either positive or negative for the presence of mitragynine) were examined in duplicate using five identical handheld Raman spectrometers, which provided a data set of over 1,000 examinations. Based on the results of these analyses, the method yielded a true-positive rate of 99.3%, a true-negative rate of 97.9%, a false-positive rate of 2.1%, and a false-negative rate of 0.7%. The average minimum detectable concentration (C_m) of mitragynine that reproducibly yielded a match for one of the library spectra on all five instruments was determined to be 342 ng/mL (ppb). This C_m value is a conservative estimate considering that the extraction process was not fully optimized by this study, which was not necessary since the C_m value achieved was well below typical mitragynine concentrations in kratom (1.3–2.3%). The method is ideal (i) for prioritizing samples for additional testing using other more time-consuming laboratory-based techniques needed to detect and quantify mitragynine and (ii) for field use at international mail facility (IMF) satellite laboratories to help interdict kratom and prevent this dangerous product from reaching the U.S. supply chain.     

Managing crime through quality education: A model of justice

The study examines the role of quality education in access to justice, using a panel data of 21 diversified countries for the period of 1990–2015. The findings show that there is a positive relationship between the presence of scientific and technical journals (STJ) articles and crime rates. The R&D expenditures does not substantially reduce crime rate while per capita income, trademark applications, and technical cooperation grants significantly reduce crime rates across countries. The panel fixed effect (FE) model confirmed the inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income (GDPpc) and crime rate in the presence of STJ, while this result is changed in the case of GMM estimator. The results of panel causality confirmed the unidirectional causality running from crime rate to STJ and R&D expenditures, while there is bidirectional causality between i) GDPpc and technical cooperation grants, and between ii) energy efficiency and refugee population by country. The variance decomposition analysis (VDA) shows that R&D expenditures have a greater share to influence crime rate, while technical cooperation grants will affect STJ for the next 10 years time. This finding bolsters the conversation on the relationship between education and a reduction in crime rates.     

Effect of tourism on economic growth of Sri Lanka: accounting for capital per worker,exchange rate and structural breaks

We explore the nexus between tourism, exchange rate and economic growth in Sri Lanka over the period 1980–2014. Using the augmented Solow (Q J Econ 70(1):65–94, 1956) framework and the ARDL bounds procedure whilst accounting for structural breaks using Bai and Perron (J Appl Econ 18(1):1–22, 2003) multiple break tests, the short-run and long-run association and impacts are examined. The results confirm the presence of a long-run association between tourism receipts (% of GDP), exchange rate, capital per worker and output per worker. The regression results show a 1% increase in tourism receipts results in a 0.03 and 0.06% increase in output per worker in the short-run and long-run, respectively. A unidirectional causality is noted from tourism to output per worker; from exchange rate to output per worker and capital per worker; and from output to capital, in per worker terms. Finally, we note that although structural breaks periods have negative association with economic growth, they are not statistically significant.     

Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); TRICARE program; reimbursement--DoD. Proposed rule

This rule proposes to revise certain requirements and procedures for reimbursement under the TRICARE program, the purpose of which is to implement a comprehensive managed health care delivery system composed of military medical treatment facilities and CHAMPUS. Issues addressed in this proposed rule include: implementation of changes made to the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) upon which the CHAMPUS DRG-based payment system is modeled and required by law to follow wherever practicable, along with changes to make our DRG-based payment system operate better; extension of the balance billing limitations currently in place for individual and professional providers to non-institutional, non-professional providers; adjusting the CHAMPUS maximum allowable charge (CMAC) rate in the small number of cases where the CMAC rate is less than the Medicare rate; and implementing the government-wide debarment rule where any provider excluded or suspended from CHAMPUS shall be excluded from all other programs and activities involving Federal financial assistance, such as Medicare or Medicaid, and adding violations of our balance billing or claims filing requirements to the list of provider actions considered violations of the TRICARE/CHAMPUS program.     

针极肌电图与神经传导检测的法医学应用

目的探讨针极肌电图与神经传导检测在法医学鉴定中的应用价值,为建立规范、统一的周围神经检测评价方法提供科学依据。方法选取周围神经损伤者164例(损伤组)和正常者138例(对照组),分别应用针极肌电图及神经传导检测两种方法进行检测,对两种方法的检出率进行比较及统计分析。结果损伤组中,应用针极肌电图与神经传导检测的检出率差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);对照组中,两种方法的阴性率差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。同时应用两种方法在损伤组中的假阴性率和正常组中的假阳性率均为0%。结论在法医学鉴定中对疑有周围神经损伤者,同时应用针极肌电图与神经传导检测有助于提高鉴定结论的准确性。     

Exchange Rate Variability and Labor Market Performance in the Visegrád Countries

According to the traditional ‘optimum currency area’ approach, not much will be lost from a very hard peg to a currency union if there has been little reason for variations in the exchange rate. This paper takes a different approach and highlights the fact that high exchange rate volatility may as well signal high costs for labor markets. Based on the paper by Belke (2003), the impact of exchange rate volatility on labor markets in the four Visegrád Economies (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic) is analyzed, finding that volatility vis-à-vis the euro significantly increases unemployment. Hence, the elimination of exchange rate volatility could be considered as a substitute for a removal of employment protection legislation.     

医疗纠纷中死亡争议案件尸检价值的评估

目的探讨尸体检验对死亡争议事件的医疗鉴定、赔偿处理上的价值,以妥善处理医疗纠纷中医患双方的矛盾。方法对温州市4个市、区、县2002—2004年的182例死亡争议事件进行回顾性分析,就尸检率,临床、尸检诊断,尸检对医疗鉴定及争议事件处理上的作用,及其在不同级别医院的具体情况等进行了统计处理。结果182例其中尸检46例,尸检率25.27%。二级以上医疗机构死亡争议事件112例,尸检率19.64%。临床死因诊断与尸检死因诊断不符合率37%,以循环系统、呼吸系统为多。46例尸检中,医疗鉴定32例(69.5%),经济赔偿29例(63%)。未尸检136例,医疗鉴定20例(14.7%),经济赔偿121例(88.9%),两者差异显著,有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论尸体检验对死亡争议案件的医疗鉴定与处理具有重要意义,尤其在死因鉴定方面具有不可替代性。     

Pharmacokinetics of ethanol in patients with renal failure before and after hemodialysis

We studied the pharmacokinetics of ethanol in seven patients suffering from terminal renal failure before and after they underwent hemodialysis. Ethanol (0.40 g/kg) was administered in the morning after an overnight fast by a constant rate intravenous (IV) infusion over 45 min. After removing a mean fluid volume of 2.46±0.48 liters (±SD), span 1.76–3.43 liters by hemodialysis, the same subjects received a second IV infusion of ethanol after they had eaten lunch. At exactly timed intervals of 0, 45, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, 165, and 180 min from the start of the infusion, two blood-samples were drawn and the plasma portion of one of them was obtained by centrifugation. The concentration of ethanol in blood and plasma was determined by headspace gas chromatography and the water-content of whole blood was determined from the change in weight after desiccation. Plasma always contained a higher concentration of ethanol than whole blood and the mean plasma/whole blood ratio in patients with renal failure was 1.07:1 (span 1.05–1.10). The rate of ethanol disappearance from blood (β-slope) was faster (0.185±0.013 versus 0.157±0.022 g/l/h), the C₀ value was higher (0.79±0.08 versus 0.73±0.10 g/l) and the apparent volume of distribution (V_d) of ethanol was lower (0.507±0.049 versus 0.558±0.078 l/kg) after hemodialysis. The water content of whole blood was significantly higher (P<0.001) before dialysis (88.6±1.97 g/100 ml) compared with after dialysis (87.4±2.01 g/100 ml). The higher V_d for ethanol and lower C₀ as well as higher blood-water content are to be expected for a over hydrated condition before hemodialysis. The swifter rate of ethanol elimination from blood (β-slope) after hemodialysis should be interpreted with caution because eating a meal before the second infusion of ethanol is a confounding factor. Nevertheless, the rate of elimination of ethanol from blood in patients with renal failure agreed reasonably well with values expected for healthy subjects, namely mean 0.15 g/l/h spanning from 0.10 to 0.20 g/l/h.