Reference to a protected geographical indication on a composite food product

It is prohibited to refer to a geographical indication protectedunder Regulation 2081/92 on the label of a composite food productif the specific features of the PGI are not preserved.     

Article 81 is a defence to a plea of trade mark infringement

The Court of Appeal in Sportswear considered the interactionbetween the EU principle of free movement of goods and respectfor trade marks rights. In overturning the decision of Mr JusticeWarren to strike out an Article 81 defence to trade mark infringement,the court found that there was a sufficient nexus between theArticle 81 defence and the trade mark infringement claim.     

Impacts of realized volatility of oil price over foreign trade related activities in Turkey

Since 1973 oil crises, especially, small open economies have considered sudden and highly volatile movements in currencies and current account deficits. Oil prices have been breaking new historical price records since second quarter of 2014, especially from last quarter of 2015 to first quarter of 2016, which have gradually put pressure on political, geographical, and currencies risks in the Middle East and Eastern European countries. Similarly, because Turkish economy has been experienced serious current account deficit problems especially since 2002, the effect of decline in oil prices and increased volatility has been worth of investigating. For 2003M1–2015M7 period, export–import ratio, real exchange rate index, realized volatility in oil prices calculated based on monthly OPEC basket price, industrial production index, and consumer price index were collected to analyze these effects and causality relationship among these variables. Test results of unit root test with and without structural break, ARDL bound test and co-integration test were sorted out among variables. Initial result is that price volatility increases and total import decreases more sharply than total export after the decline in oil prices; thus, export–import ratio increases. Another is that there is a negative relationship between real exchange rate index and export–import ratio for real economy because of low oil substituents. As expected, inflation has an adverse effect on foreign trade ratio. Consequently, because of lower pressure of energy-induced inflation, economy policy makers will have some ability to change their priorities from inflation issue to other structural problems.     

Bubbles! The indispensability of the Comparative Advertising Directive to trade mark law

The use by H3G of bubbles in a television advertisement comparingmobile telephone prices complied with the Comparative AdvertisingDirective and thus did not infringe O2's trade mark registrationsfor bubbles. Supplementary data in the form of a clip of theadvertisement discussed in this article is available at www.jiplp.oxfordjournals.org.     

Advocate General says comparative advertising is not a matter of trade mark law

According to Advocate General Mengozzi, trade mark infringementis not relevant in assessing the legality of a third party'suse of an identical trade mark or similar sign in comparativeadvertising, but such advertising is governed exhaustively byArticle 3a of the Misleading Advertising Directive (84/450),as amended by the Comparative Advertising Directive (97/55)(‘CAD’).     

简评《鹿特丹规则》对中国外贸的影响

作为海上货物运输法公约,《鹿特丹规则》重视国际货物买卖赖以实现的海上货物运输领域产生的利益冲突问题,并创设相应新制度以试图加以解决。通过对《鹿特丹规则》若干规定加以简要评述,认为《鹿特丹规则》对中国外贸既有积极的作用,也有不利的影响,这似乎是其平衡利益和寻求统一的必然结果。在对公约进行批判性研究基础上完善中国国内立法,为更好维护中国航运和贸易利益方根本利益提供法律保障是十分重要的。     

From foreign trade to international investment: a new step in China’s integration with the world economy

China’s economic strategy is facing new challenges arising from the changes in the world economy as well as in its domestic conditions. Given the sluggish global economy and the rise of protectionist policies, China cannot expect external demand to contribute to its economic growth as much as in the past. On the domestic side, the working age population has ceased to increase and will soon diminish; rising domestic costs will force Chinese exporters to shift from price competitiveness to quality upgrading and to build new comparative advantages. An important dimension of China’s new strategy will be the expansion of its direct investment abroad. China which has already become the leading world exporter and has been up to now a major recipient of foreign direct investment is likely to turn out to be a major international investor. China has accumulated large foreign assets which mainly consist of foreign government debt securities and is now aiming at diversifying its external assets through promoting Chinese firms’ investment abroad.     

An elasticity approach to the analysis of Romanian foreign trade policy during the years of transition

This paper focuses on the effect of exchange rate variations on the economic evolution of a country in transition, facing inflation, output decrease and negative external shocks; the particular case of Romania is considered. The theoretical part is linked to the Fleming-Mundell model for an open economy, but additional assumptions of price mobility and capital immobility are introduced. The usual interest rate versus output graphic framework is switched from one to another, which plots the exchange rate (or real exchange rate) versus output; the author considers that such a representation fits the behavior of an economy in transition towards a market-based system better. A main role, according to this interpretation, is played by the exchange rate elasticities of imports and exports, which influence the images of the equilibria on the goods market and the balance of payment (the IS and BOP curves' slopes). Finally, an empirical analysis is made, as an example, on the Romanian energy imports data series; the attempts to calculate the exchange rate elasticity may be considered as reliable only in the short term. In order to estimate the global exchange rate elasticities of imports and exports, some aggregations of partial sectorial results might be a possible solution. In the Romanian case, the resulting elasticities seem to be lower than for other countries; this poses the question as to the effectiveness of exchange rate policies in managing the Romanian economy.     

Intellectual Property High Court of Japan denies registration of trade mark for market leading multi-million dollar beer product on non-distinctive grounds

The Intellectual Property High Court of Japan's (IPHCJ) recent Honnama trade mark decisionillustrates the difficulties of registering an inherently non-distinctivemark and the perils of relying on secondary meaning evidenceof use that is not identical with the mark in the trade markapplication.     

Influence of vertical angle of a tool on its tool mark

The paper deals with the influence of the vertical angle of a tool on the resultant tool mark. Experiments were carried out using five screwdrivers on aluminium surfaces, the vertical angle of each screwdriver being varied from 90° to 25° in steps of 5°. It was found that differences in vertical angle greater than 15° may cause non-identity between two marks from the same tool.     

Significant 2005 case law on the Community trade mark from the Court of First Instance, the European Court of Justice and OHIM

Legal context. Each year the ECJ and CFI gives numerous judgmentsin trade mark matters that are of interest to trade mark practitionersthroughout Europe. This article identifies the most importantcases decided in 2005 relating to the major issues in trademark law. Key points. Issues covered relating to procedural questionsinclude the language regime, the duty of Boards of Appeal togive reasons for their decisions, the right of a party to beheard, etc. Numerous substantive issues are covered, relatingto both absolute and relative grounds. The article also containssome helpful annexes that set out some actual comparisons ofsigns and of goods & services that have been carried outby the Luxembourg courts.     

The effect of (the absence of) multinationals' foreign direct investment on the level of Eastern European trade

Identifying the most important systemic characteristics that have determined the behavior of CPEs is crucial for the choice of a transition path within the ongoing economic reforms in these countries. The empirical literature on the comparative behavior of CPEs and MEs often gives little help in explaining exactly why the economic performance of CPEs differs from that of MEs. This is certainly the case for studies that have previously examined the comparative levels of CPE trade. Employing the data and methodology of an existing study (Browning, 1985), and adding a variable representing the level of MNC activity in each country, it is shown that the low levels of CPE trade can be completely explained by the NMC activity, without recourse to other effects of the economic system.     

Analysis of salivary DNA evidence from a bite mark on a body submerged in water.

A female body was recovered after approximately 5.5 h in a river with slow-moving current. On the victim's right breast, a patterned injury was discovered and determined to be from human adult teeth. Evidence was collected according to established techniques including recovery of saliva from the bite mark area despite the body being found submerged in water. DNA analysis by PCR using polymorphic STR markers revealed a DNA profile of mixed origin. In addition to the victim's DNA profile, a genotype contribution from the perpetrator was identified as a minor component. The DNA typing results from the bite mark correlated with the DNA typing results obtained from other biological trace evidence identified from the victim's genital samples. The bite mark and the DNA evidence were used to screen suspects and played an important role in obtaining resolution of this case. Consequently, it is advisable that investigators routinely swab for salivary DNA in bite mark cases, even when the amount is thought to be minimal.     

应用mtDNA16S rRNA基因测序鉴定肉产品种属

目的 应用mtDNA 16S rRNA基因测序方法进行肉产品种属鉴定.方法 15份有关部门送检的未知动物肌肉样本,3份市购猪、牛和羊的肌肉为对照样本.常规酚-氯仿法提取模板DNA,分别用通用引物和特异性引物扩增mtDNA的16S rRNA基因片段,产物用1.5％琼脂糖电泳检测,扩增的基因片段由上海生物工程公司进行序列测...     

Quantitative assessment of evidential weight for a fingerprint comparison I. Generalisation to the comparison of a mark with set of ten prints from a suspect

The authors have published elsewhere a quantitative method for assessing weight of evidence in the case where a finger mark from a crime scene is compared with a control print taken from a single finger of a suspect. The approach is based on the notion of calculating a likelihood ratio (LR) that addresses a pair of propositions relating to the single finger that was the origin of the crime mark. In practice, things are rather different because the crime mark will not just be compared with a single finger from a suspect but with a set of prints from all of his/her fingers; likewise, when the mark is compared with a database, this will consist of ten print records from random individuals. It is clear that "finger propositions" are not realistic in this situation and we show how our approach may be generalised to address a pair of propositions that relate to the person that made the crime mark. It often is the case that information is present at the crime scene that enables some inference to be drawn relating to which of the offender's ten fingers left a particular mark of interest. This kind of inference may profitably be drawn into the formal analysis. We illustrate our approach with an example.