24 Feb MWC Barcelona is back
MWC Barcelona, the largest mobile event globally that brings together the latest innovations and leading-edge technology alongside today’s most influential visionaries, will be held again in Barcelona from February 28 through March 3, 2022. This year, it is back with renewed focus and energy (https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/).
This edition’s main themes are 5G Connect, Advancing AI, CloudNet, FinTech, Internet of Everything, and Tech Horizon.
MWC Barcelona 2022 is anticipating over 1,800 exhibitors, attendees from 183 countries and over 1,000 expert keynote speakers. Among the companies attending, one can see industry leaders like Google, Vodafone, Ericsson, Orange, Verizon, Telefonica, Accenture, Samsung, IBM, Microsoft, Huawei, Intel, LG, Qualcomm, Cisco, Meta, and Dell, among others.
To tackle infringements of IP rights during the event, yet another year, the Judges of the Commercial Courts of Barcelona and those of the Commercial Courts of Alicante (acting as EUTM and Community Design Courts) have set up an on-call and fast action protocol for MWC Barcelona 2022.
The protocol will allow holders of intellectual property rights (e.g. software, patents, Spanish and EU trademarks, registered trade names, Spanish and community designs) to obtain preliminary injunctions, among other measures, in an extraordinarily short time, in cases of infringements that may occur until the end of the event.
Regarding the measures set out in the protocol, the Courts will deal with preference and priority pretrial proceedings for collecting evidence, procedures of inquiries to substantiate facts (e.g. verification of infringement), urgent preliminary injunctions, and protective letters/briefs (an anticipated reply or an advance opposition to a foreseeable application for ex parte preliminary injunctions).
Under the protocol, applications for pretrial proceedings for collecting evidence, procedures of inquiries to substantiate facts, and urgent ex parte preliminary injunctions will be resolved within 2 days (48 hours). Applications for preliminary injunctions with a hearing will be resolved within 10 days, provided that the respondent has previously filed a protective letter. Protective letters will be admitted within 24 hours of filing.
The Courts of Barcelona will also carry out the immediate enforcement of the measures adopted by the Courts of Alicante related to the infringement of EU trademarks and Community designs.
Furthermore, for second consecutive year, due to the pandemic of covid-19, the Courts may grant preliminary injunctions and/or urgent measures also for acts of infringement made online and/or on the virtual platforms provided by the event organizer and will promote virtual/remote hearings.
The full text of the protocol is available on this link:
Written by Emil Edissonov, Lawyer at CURELL SUÑOL SLP
Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash