In the EU, any third party in possession of genuine goods put on the market in the European Economic Area (EEA) by the trade mark owner or with the trade mark owner’s consent is free to resell those goods within the EEA. This is because the EU imposes a system of “regional exhaustion”, which means…
On 25 July 2018 (C-129/17), the CJEU decided that de-branding and rebranding of goods prior to any trade within the EEA without the trademark proprietor’s consent constituted ‘use in the course of trade’ of the originally affixed trademark and could, therefore, be prohibited by the proprietor of that mark. The judgment broadens the concept…
On the 21 March 2018 the Danish Board of Appeal (“The Board”) delivered its decision regarding the trademark protection of the shape of the following potato snack (decision no. AN 2017 00006): The snack originates from the famous snack brand Kims which is owned by Orkla Confectionary & Snack Danmark A/S (“Orkla”). In the decision…
An administrative non-use revocation action has been available in Switzerland since January 1st, 2017. This action can be filed before the Swiss Trademark Office (IPI) against both National Swiss Trademark Registrations and Swiss designations of International Trademark Registrations. Earlier this year, the IPI published a first statistical report regarding the newly introduced procedure: 61 revocation…
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal of Milan upheld a 2015 ruling by the Court of Milan which recognized copyright protection of the concept store of Kiko, the Italian make-up brand, and blocked competitor Wycon from using similar store decor in its shops. (Court of Appeal decision no. 1543/18, Kiko-Wycon, March 26, 2018). Kiko’s…
More than four years since major amendments to the Canadian Trademarks Act were passed, the government has signaled that implementation is finally expected in the spring of 2019. These changes are the most significant changes since the 1950’s. The following changes are of primary interest: Elimination of use as a requirement for registration. Registration will…
As reported earlier this year, in a ruling dated February 12, 2018 by the Commercial Court of Kyiv in the case no. 910/14972/17, the judge effectively applied a five-year non-use grace period, as provided for under the Association Agreement with the EU (Art. 198), and rejected the non-use cancellation action, which was based on the…
The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Seattle district court’s dismissal of trademark infringement and false advertising claims filed against Amazon.com, Inc. by a seller on Amazon. The district court concluded that Amazon was not liable for promotional advertising emails that used the seller’s trademark because it did not imply a false association between Amazon…
In a trademark dispute over use of the brand name ROGUE for clothing, the federal district court in New York City erred by ruling on summary judgment that an apparel manufacturer was the rightful owner of the mark for clothing, and that an Oregon brewery was only entitled to sell clothing under the ROGUE Mark…
After many months of uncertainty, we have now received a degree of assurance as to the manner in which EUTM and RCD rights will persist in the UK following Brexit. This assurance has come from Robin Walker, the Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, in a recent Parliamentary debate: UK-owned trademarks and…
