Blog
Analysis and commentary on intellectual property developments relevant to cross-border business across Europe, Latin America and Africa. We publish on the matters that affect how intangible assets are protected, exploited and defended — from EUIPO and WIPO practice to the implementation of the EU AI Act and the evolution of intellectual property regimes across Latin American and African jurisdictions.
Managing a multi-country copyright portfolio from one point of contact
Copyright needs no registration, but a multi-country portfolio still needs an inventory, proof of ownership per country, clean assignments and monitoring. How to run it from…
What are IP legal services? Licensing, enforcement, litigation, compliance
IP legal services explained: how licensing, recordals, enforcement, litigation, arbitration and compliance differ from registration, and when your business needs them.
Global Innovation Index 2026: what it means for Latin America and Africa
Chile leads Latin America, Brazil is the region's only overperformer and South Africa overperforms for a ninth year. How to read the GII 2026 for IP…
Thomson Reuters v Ross: Third Circuit rejects fair use for AI training
The Third Circuit held that Westlaw headnotes are original and that ROSS's use of them to train a competing AI legal-research tool was not fair use.…
Copyright assignment applicable law: the CJEU in Steizer applies Rome I
The CJEU ruled on 24 September 2026 that the formal validity of a copyright assignment follows Rome I, not the law of the country of protection.…
Like Company v Google: the first CJEU case on generative AI, explained
The first CJEU case on generative AI asks whether training is reproduction, whether chatbot outputs need licences and how far the TDM exception goes. What is…
Copyright protection in Africa: OAPI, South Africa and Nigeria compared
How copyright works in the 17 OAPI states, South Africa and Nigeria: ownership, term, written assignments, fair use and collective licensing.
Cross-border IP valuation: methods, pitfalls and jurisdiction risk
Income, market and cost methods give different figures, and value falls where rights are missing, unused or unrecorded. What to check before an M&A, licence or…
Copyright due diligence for cross-border deals: code, open source, content
How to check software ownership, open source compliance and content licences before an M&A deal or investment between the EU and Latin America, with a checklist.
Upcycling and trademark infringement: Paris rulings on Chanel and Hermès
Paris courts have rejected exhaustion for upcycled Chanel and Hermès items. What the rulings mean for resale, jewellery and fashion brands reusing branded parts.
Tokenised IP and NFTs under MiCA: what holders own and when MiCA applies
Buying an NFT does not transfer the copyright or the trade mark. What token holders really own, when MiCA applies to NFTs and tokenised IP, and…
Pelham’s sample is pastiche: Germany’s top court closes Metall auf Metall
The BGH held on 3 September 2026 that Pelham's Kraftwerk sample is a lawful pastiche. What the CJEU test requires and where a licence is still…
