Where the marks differ in only a single additional letter at the end of one of the marks, can the resulting similarity be “neutralized” by the conceptual differences? The German Federal Patent Court decided on 19 June 2017 that the opposing mark “Combit” and the attacked mark were overall dissimilar and that, even if there…
CeramTec GmbH is the owner of the color trade mark IR 1‘109‘076 claiming protection for a shade of pink (Pantone 677, see image). At the beginning of 2012, CeramTec applied for the extension of protection to Switzerland for said trade mark in connection with goods of class 10: “femoral head spheres, acetabular cup, all the…
In April, the Oslo District Court partially relied on EUIPO Guidelines in finding that this trade mark is distinctive (judgment of 11. April 2017, case 16-135037TVI-OTIR/07).The mark had been rejected by the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) and the Board of Appeal as being descriptive and non-distinctive for “ammunition, projectiles and cartridges”. Norway is…
Time flies so fast… It seems like only yesterday I informed on this blog about the EU Commission’s report on EU customs enforcement of intellectual property rights for 2015. And last week another report from the Commission – for 2016 – was released. As in previous years, the report contains statistical information about the detentions…
That is the question recently raised at the Chancery Division of the High Court in England and Wales within the case of Sky Plc & Ors v SkyKick UK Ltd & Anor [2017] EWHC 1769 (Ch) (13 July 2017). The Claimants in this case provide a range of services, including pay television, home entertainment…
On the occasion of World Anti-Counterfeiting Day on 30 June 2017, the annual report on counterfeit goods seizures carried out by national law enforcement agencies and the Inland Revenue Office in Spain in 2016 was presented at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. In 2016, a total of over 4 million counterfeit products were seized…
Germany is a key venue for international trade fairs. So it is no surprise that trade fairs are tempting targets for counterfeiters and infringers. Right owners must rely on quick and effective relief if they want to avoid an impairment of their rights. However, they should be aware of the peculiarities of German law in…
The Alicante Court of Appeal has concluded that the use of comparison lists in the marketing of smell-alike perfumes constitutes an unlawful form of comparative advertising, even when it is the consumers themselves that are making use of these lists at a sales website. This latest case ruled on new forms of using comparison lists…
That is the question that was recently answered by the Board of Appeal of the Dutch Advertising Code Authority. The TM symbol stands for “trademark” and is traditionally used for unregistered trademarks in various jurisdictions such as the US. Conversely, the ® symbol is used to indicate a trademark has been registered. However, in the…
On 18 July 2017, the General Court held that the two designs shown here produced the same overall impression (case T-57/16; not yet available in English). The EUIPO – both first and second instance – had held otherwise. The Cancellation Division described the designs as superimposed C’s (Chanel’s logo) and 3’s (the design under attack),…
