Latest blog articles

  • The idea floated by a Maastricht doctoral researcher in September 2017 on how to bypass the current deadlock over appointments to the WTO Appellate Body and to avoid a collapse of the WTO dispute settlement system has gained momentum in academic and policymaking circles.

  • Although decreasing costs of renewable energy technology have made renewable energy projects more commercially viable, investment in renewables remains highly capital-intensive, due to large necessary upfront costs, and is not considered profitable in the short-term.

  • Christian Louboutin vs Van Haren Schoenen - The CJEU is to decide as to whether or not the red colour on soles of Louboutin shoes represents an aspect of a shape of the product, in which case it would not be protectable.

  • Since “Champagne” is a protected designation of origin (PDO) under EU law, it is not self-evident whether a product that is not Champagne but which contains Champagne can use the protected term in its trade name.

  • The world faces the growing problem of global warming. This phenomenon leads to unprecedented social effects in human history. Consequently, it is imperative to mitigate this problem. International Organizations and countries are working together in order to better deal with this issue.

  • A handbook, a practical tool for users”; this is how Dr. Thomas Kirchberger defines his thesis, in which he covers the relation between Open Design and Intellectual Property. On Friday 29th of September 2017, Dr. Kirchberger came to our Law Faculty to discuss this topic and analyse how open design...

  • This book addresses concerns with the international trade and investment dispute settlement systems from a statist perspective, at a time when multilateralism is deeply questioned by the forces of mega-regionalism and political and economic contestation.

  • “Whereas from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’s Monster to the classical myth of Pygmalion, through the story of Prague’s Golem to the robot of Karel Čapek, who coined the word, people have fantasised about the possibility of building intelligent machines, more often than not androids with human...

  • Innovation is not working nowadays in the western world as we think it is. Erixon suggests that we should rethink the role of IPRs. Would it not be better for governments to be more selective in determining to whom a patent should be granted? 

  • The UK Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter “IPO”), on the 28th November 2016, published their willingness to proceed with the preparation for the ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA).