An infringment action is a legal action brought in the Courts against a party which is infringing the claimant’s intellectual property rights.
The Sofia City Court, Commercial Division reached a landmark decision on November 15, 2018, when it issued a judgement holding that the company REZON Ltd., which manages and operates the on-line marketplace <bazar.bg>, violated the rights of the trademark owner PHILIPP PLEIN. The breach occurred through the use of these trademarks in the commercial activity…
The Regional Court of Munich was asked to decide on the question if an application for action by a right holder, based on the Customs Enforcement Regulation No. 608/2013 (“Customs Enforcement Regulation”), constitutes a dishonest obstruction of a competitor’s business under German unfair competition law. The court rejected the claim arguing that the provisions of…
In Germany, the Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf decided that trademark rights were not exhausted in a case where luxury cosmetic products were offered at a German discounter. The Court held that the offer of the luxury cosmetic products at the discounter stores as well as at the discounter’s online-shop would be detrimental for the image…
In yet another decision, the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) has ruled on whether an injunction also obliged an infringer to take active steps to stop the distribution of infringing products through resellers (decision of the BGH of 11 October 2017 in Case I ZB 96/16). The case follows a series of earlier decisions by…
On imitation marketing and locally limited likelihood of confusion between the product get-up of “Mozartkugel” confectionery. The city of Salzburg is not only the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but also home to one of Austria’s most famous sweets, the „(Salzburger) Mozartkugeln”. The Austrian Supreme Court (“OGH”) recently decided in a conflict between two…
With decision C-425/16 of October 19, 2017, the European Union Court of Justice (“CJEU”) pronounced on whether or not EU national courts can dismiss an infringement action without first ruling on a counterclaim for invalidity, and if the courts must wait until the decision on the counterclaim is final. The issue arose from a request of…
On 17 May 2017, the Swedish Patent and Market Court (the “PMD”) decided a case whereby it held that Nestlé’s expansion of its cat food brand “PURINA felix” into Sweden infringed the reputed Swedish foodstuff trademark FELIX, and that the fact that PURINA felix was previously used and enjoyed recognition in another EU country did not…
Two months ago I reported about the Draft of a new Trademark Act (Markenrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz) which was supposed to enter into force before the election for the next German Bundestag. Some of the relevant German associations commented in detail on the draft and proposed some well-grounded changes – i.e. the Markenverband, the GRUR, and the Bundesverband Deutscher…
In a decision of June 2, 2016 Svea Court of Appeal found Mars’ popular product “m&m’s” infringing Kraft Foods Sverige Intellectual Property AB’s non-registered trademark “m” in relation to candy and chocolates. Mars’ sales of products bearing the trademarks “m” and “m&m’s” were therefore prohibited in Sweden under the penalty of a fine of SEK…
CJEU: reimbursement of legal costs in IP infringement proceedings must not be disproportionate or even insignificant On 28 July 2016, the CJEU ruled in a case concerning the reimbursement of legal costs in a patent infringement action in Belgium (United Video Properties Inc. v. Telenet NV, C‑57/15). It declared that a flat fee reimbursement system,…
