Section 3(h) of the Law on Trademarks (22,362) prohibits the registration of a person s name, pseudonym or portrait as a trademark without either their consent or that of their heirs up to the fourth degree.
Cuba Ron SA applied to register the trademark ARECHABALA under Class 33 in Argentina. Maria Catalina Arechabala Arechabala opposed the registration, arguing a lack of legitimate interest on the part of the applicant and the grounds of Section 3(h) of the Law on Trademarks.
The controversy in Argentina originated in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, when the main rum-manufacturing companies were nationalised. Among these was a company that had been founded by José Arechabala in Cárdenas in the early 1920s and operated under his name in the legal form of a corporation.
Creation of inventions, utility models or industrial designs
For inventions, the amount of remuneration must be 30% of the employee s average monthly wage over the previous 12 months.
For models or designs, the amount of remuneration must be 20% of the employee s average monthly wage over the previous 12 months.
Payment must be made within two months of the patent grant or the employer s decision to keep the information secret. If the patent was not granted because of circumstances under the employer s control, payment must be made within 18 months of the filing date.
Employers use of employees inventions
The remuneration must be three times the employee s average monthly wage over the previous 12 months during which the invention has been used.
forum non conveniens applied.
Forum for administration clause
Kawaley J agreed that the nature or legal character of the dispute is relevant (applying the decision of
Crociani v Crociani
(7)) in deciding whether a jurisdiction clause in a trust deed applies:
The question of whether a forum for administration clause, irrespective of whether it is expressed to be exclusive or not, confers exclusive jurisdiction on the relevant court is an arid debate if the context in which the question arises is not taken into account.
The court found that, on the facts of the present case, the trustee would not be entitled to rely on the forum clause given that the claim in question was not brought by someone claiming under the trust, but rather as someone challenging its validity.
What s new in the 2021 ICC rules on joinder and consolidation?
The most notable change in the new 2021 International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration Rules, which are applicable to all ICC arbitrations initiated from 1 January 2021, is to make it easier to join an additional party to a pending arbitration.
Under Article 7 of the 2017 ICC rules, a request for joinder made after the confirmation or appointment of any arbitrator was subject to the unanimous consent of all parties. However, the new Article 7(5) of the 2021 rules gives the arbitral tribunal the discretion to grant a request for joinder even without such unanimous consent, provided that the additional party accepts the constitution of the arbitral tribunal and agrees to the terms of reference. In exercising its discretion, the arbitral tribunal must consider all relevant circumstances, including:
Introduction
The Grand Court recently considered the statutory moratorium against commencing proceedings against a Cayman company which has been placed into liquidation. In
BDO Cayman Ltd v Ardent Harmony Fund Inc (in Official Liquidation),(1) the Grand Court held that a plaintiff which launches originating proceedings against a company in liquidation, seeking adverse orders against that company, patently requires leave of the court to bring the proceedings. The Grand Court also held that the plaintiffs in that case did not have a case worth entertaining in respect of either basis on which they had brought the applications in question.
Facts
Ardent Harmony Fund Inc (in Official Liquidation) is a Cayman fund which invested in receivables financing by way of contractually engaged credit advisers. One of those credit advisers defrauded Ardent of approximately 90% of its assets under management, resulting in Ardent being placed into official liquidation in 2016.