Legal Troubles for Meta’s Threads Platform: Twitter Threatens Lawsuit

The analysis from the perspective of Brazilian legal system

The newly launched Threads text platform by Meta is already facing legal issues. According to a report from Semafor, Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over Threads.

In a letter addressed to Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, included in the report, a lawyer from X Corp, the parent company of Twitter owned by Elon Musk, states that “Twitter has serious concerns that Meta Platforms has engaged in systematic, intentional, and unlawful appropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property.”

The letter is said to have been sent to Meta’s CEO hours after the launch of Threads. The document accuses Meta of hiring “dozens of former Twitter employees” in the past year and claims that these employees “have had and continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets.”

 


Meta has reportedly responded to Twitter’s accusations, denying them and stating that they are unfounded. This is not the first time Meta has been accused of launching platforms similar to competitors’ to maintain its market share, as Instagram Stories helped the platform strengthen its user base compared to Snapchat, while Reels has been compared to TikTok.

 

According to Brazilian intellectual property law, the determination of potential software plagiarism relies on demonstrating the copying of the program’s source code. This is because, according to Article 8, I of the Copyright Law, the systems themselves, including their layout and functionalities, are not eligible for protection under copyright law. However, the source code, given its textual form (programming language), is protected. 

 

Nevertheless, the use of privileged information for unfair competition is condemned by the legal system, considering its policy against unfair competition (Article 2, V, Industrial Property Law). In such cases, the specifics of the particular situation will be evaluated.

As a specialized intellectual property law firm with 46 years of experience in the field, Peduti Advogados can certainly assist you in any potential demands of this nature.

 

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Author: Enzo Toyoda Coppola and Cesar Peduti Filho, Peduti Advogados.

Source: https://googlediscovery.com/2023/07/06/twitter-ameaca-processar-meta-por-suposta-violacao-de-propriedade-intelectual-no-threads/

https://www.semafor.com/article/07/06/2023/twitter-is-threatening-to-sue-meta-over-threads

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

Flona Tefé Collective Mark is Launched

On March 31, 2023, the newly created collective mark for the Flona Tefé was officially launched in Manaus, Amazon region, Brazil. The event celebrated the registration of the collective mark of the association APAFE (Associação dos Produtores Agroextrativistas da Floresta Nacional de Tefé e Entorno) with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).  

 

Members of the association, who mainly produce cassava flour and derived products, honey, and oils in the Amazon region, will be able to use the collective mark to better position their products in the market. 

 

 

The participants of the event had the opportunity to discuss, on the occasion, about the development and registration of the collective mark, the importance of the collective mark for product commercialization and market access ant it’s potential benefits, as well as the future of the collective mark Flona Tefé.

 

It’s important to highlight that the collective mark has been developed as part of a Development Agenda Project that WIPO is implementing in Brazil, in collaboration with the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE), the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other local partners.  

 

The project aims at facilitating the use of this IP tool by local communities.

 

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Author: Nathália Regina Alves Dourado and Cesar Peduti, Peduti Advogados 

Source: https://www.wipo.int/collective-marks/en/news/2023/news_0001.html 

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“If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

“Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.”

 

Brazil becomes part of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Digital Access Service for Priority Documents (DAS) as an accessing office for industrial designs

Starting this week (August 1, 2023), Brazil will join the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Digital Access Service for Priority Documents (DAS) as an accessing office specifically for industrial designs.

 

As a result, the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) will begin accepting WIPO-DAS codes to access official priority documents related to industrial design registrations. 

 

 

Consequently, when making a registration request, applicants will need to provide the claimed priority number and its corresponding DAS code.

 

These documents should include the identification number, date of deposit, and visual representations of the industrial designs. Applicants will have a 90-day window from the deposit date to submit the WIPO-DAS code.

 

By submitting valid priority documentation through the WIPO-DAS code, it will be assumed that the application filed in Brazil is accurately reflected in the original document, eliminating the need for a simple translation of the priority document.

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Advogado(a) autor(a) do comentário: Juliana Kaomy Mikado

Fonte:  [1] RPI n. 2742 – http://ld2.ldsoft.com.br/siteld/arq_avisos/Comunicados_2742.pdf 

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Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.

If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.

The Brazilian highly-renowned trademark: An analysis related to the registration granted to YAKULT’s three-dimensional trademark

The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BPTO) granted to the Japanese company Yakult the registration of high renown for the three-dimensional trademark “YAKULT,” which represents the most globally recognized fermented milk bottle consumed daily by approximately 40 million people, according to information from the brand itself.

 

In light of this, we will explore the concept of a highly-renowned trademark and discuss the importance and benefits of such registration in Brazilian territory.

 

In Brazil, the trademark registration system plays a fundamental role in protecting the intellectual property rights of companies, and one of the special categories of trademarks is the “highly-renowned trademark,” which is granted to trademark with significant recognition and widespread notoriety among the general public.

 

In the specific case of Yakult, the Japanese company holding the registration obtained the status of “high renown” from the BRAZILIAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (BPTO), due to the high level of recognition, distinctiveness, and notoriety of the three-dimensional bottle representing their trademark among consumers and even among people who are not direct consumers of the product.

 

 

The registration granted to Yakult as a highly-renowned trademark provides the company with broader and more comprehensive protection against unauthorized or improper use of the trademark by third parties, thus preventing the dilution of the brand and safeguarding its reputation and market value throughout the national territory, even against identical or similar brands, regardless of the business sector.

 

Therefore, it can be concluded that the highly-renowned registration in Brazil offers its holder special protection and recognition to a trademark that achieves a high degree of recognition among the general public. This registration provides significant benefits, such as extensive protection against improper use concerning similar brands and also enhances the brand’s appreciation, strengthens its image among consumers, and ensures a strong position in the Brazilian market.

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Advogados autores do comentário: Nicole dos Santos Silva e Cesar Peduti Filho, Peduti Advogados

Fonte: Yakult obtém registro de marca de alto renome do INP

Solicitar o reconhecimento de alto renome de registro de marca
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Se quiser saber mais sobre este tema, contate o autor ou o Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.

If you want to learn more about this topic, contact the author or the managing partner, Dr. Cesar Peduti Filho.