3D Trademark, Case law, Food, individual character, Lack of distinctiveness, National law, Registrability, Shape marks, Switzerland, Trademark, Weak elements in trademarks

(MLL Meyerlustenberger Lachenal Froriep AG)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent judgement, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court once again confirmed its (too) strict position with regard to the registration of shape marks. The court ruled that a three-dimensional mark consisting of the graphical background of a popular chocolate bar’s packaging could not be registered since the design was not perceived as an indication…

Brexit, Domain name, Domains

(Stobbs IP) and (Potter Clarkson LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent statement, the European Commission has confirmed that institutions and individuals based in the UK will no longer be able to register domains using the .eu TLD, as of the UK’s withdrawal date from the EU (which currently stands at 29th March 2019*). For those institutions or individuals who currently own such a…

Trademark

(Tsibanoulis & Partners Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

By virtue of law 4512/2018, which was published on 17 January 2018, all disputes concerning trademarks, patents and industrial designs initiated before civil courts in Greece are subject to mandatory mediation. Hearing of the cases shall be inadmissible if the mediation process stipulated in the law has not been followed. The provisions shall start to…

Russia, Trademark

(Lidings)/ /Leave a comment

Fast-track trademark and patent registration has become available in Russia. That has definitely made Russia one of the most favorable jurisdictions in Europe, at least when it comes to the length of time you spend.       Early in April, the Russian Patent Office (Rospatent) officially launched a service for fast-track registration of trademarks….

Distinctiveness, EUTM, General Court, Poland

(POLSERVICE)/ /Leave a comment

It does not happen every day that you can see a trademark case decided by the EU General Court with a Polish claimant (EUTM applicant), represented by his Polish attorney, with a Polish judge as the rapporteur and even with Polish national acting as the EUIPO’s representative. One of very few non-Polish aspects of this…

Case law, CJEU, Design Rights, EUIPO, Germany

(De Simone & Partners S.P.A.) and (Bugnion S.p.A)/ /Leave a comment

EU Design law denies protection to designs which are solely dictated by a product’s technical function (art. 8(1) CDR). But how to determine if a product’s appearance is solely defined by its technical function in order to deny protection to a design? German courts, for instance used to apply the “multiplicity of forms” test, where…

Distinctiveness, United Kingdom

, (Stobbs IP)/ /Leave a comment

The UK Intellectual Property Office has recently declared invalid Birkenstock’s UK trade mark registration for the pattern on the sole of their shoes. The decision of the Appointed Person, James Mellor QC, not only considers a slightly unusual mark, it also provides helpful guidance on factors to consider if a brand owner is trying to…

cancellation, Genuine use

(BomhardIP)/ /Leave a comment

On 19 April 2018, the CJEU handed down its judgment in the matter Peek & Cloppenburg (PUC), a referral from the German Supreme Court in a litigation between two German companies of that same name (one of which runs under the name of Peek & Cloppenburg [PuC] “North”, the other “West”) (C‑148/17). The question to…

Case law, United States

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

The federal district court in Tampa properly determined that a karaoke disc jockey’s use of unauthorized copies of karaoke tracks displaying Phoenix Entertainment Partners’ SOUND CHOICE mark did not constitute trademark infringement or unfair competition under the Lanham Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ruled in an unpublished decision. Adopting the reasoning…