Case law, Confusion, Domain name, Figurative mark, Germany, Jurisdiction, Registrability, Sign used in the course of trade, Switzerland, Trade name, Trademark

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

The German Football Association (DFB) owns the international mark “Deutscher Fussball-Bund” (with device) with basic registration in Germany (see image below), claiming protection for a wide variety of merchandise. The registration was notified to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in April 2014. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property refused to protect the…

Case law, United States

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

The federal district court in Salt Lake City did not err in terminating Leland Sycamore’s rights under a trademark license agreement (TLA) that granted him the right to use the “Grandma Sycamore’s Home Maid Bread” and “Grandma Sycamore’s Home Maid Bread Design” trademarks (the Sycamore marks), or in the scope of a permanent injunction it…

Brexit, CJEU, EUTM, PGI

(Stobbs IP)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has denied the Tea Board’s (TB) appeal against the General Court’s (GC) decision to allow Delta Lingerie’s (DL) application for various ‘Darjeeling’ marks in classes 35 and 38. In 2010, DL applied to register four figurative EUTMs including the word ‘Darjeeling’ in classes 25, 35 and…

CJEU, Community design, Design Rights, individual character, Trademark

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

On September 21, 2017, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued another important decision on designs (joined cases C-361/15 and C-405/15). Among several other issues, possibly the most relevant concerned whether or not the product and the sector to which a design relates affect the assessment of its novelty and individual character. The case concerned…

Confusion, Food, similarity of goods and services, The Netherlands

(NLO Shieldmark)/ /Leave a comment

Last month the Dutch District Court of The Hague decided in case C/09/520643 / HA ZA that there is no likelihood of confusion between SINA rice and SITA rice. This is somewhat remarkable considering earlier decisions on similar comparisons between four letter signs in relation to foodstuffs. The reason for denying likelihood of confusion lies…

Bundesgerichtshof, Case law, Genuine use, Germany, Non Use

(b/cl IP)/ /Leave a comment

Combining trademarks with further elements or sub-brands is quite popular. A recent decision of the German Federal Supreme reminds once more what to watch out for if you do not want to lose your trademark rights (decision of 11 May 2017 in Case I ZB 6/16). The owner of the German word mark registration for…

Community design, European Union, Jurisdiction, National law, Trademark

, (NautaDutilh)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Justice has rendered a crucial decision on the jurisdiction of the Community design courts over European co-defendants and the national law applicable to the measures sought. Nintendo holds various Community design rights for accessories for video game consoles, such as remote controls. It brought infringement proceedings in Germany against two companies: BigBen…

Appeal, Case law, Company names, Domain name, EU Trademark reform, European Union, Germany, Infringement, Preliminary ruling, Trade name, Trademark

(Löffel Abrar )/ /Leave a comment

The Regional High Court of Frankfurt rendered an interim injunction on appeal, which may have a great impact on the question if and to which extent the owner of an earlier trade mark can take action against the use of a colliding trade name or company name in Germany (judgment of 1 June 2017, 6…