Following the announcement of a general election in the UK, you would be forgiven for assuming that we Brits really enjoy voting. Perhaps due to the likelihood of queues, the celebration of modern democracy or even just the miniature pencils. This present vote has been met with delight, despair and of course, classic British ambivalence. …
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…
The Russian IP Court was a welcome addition to the Russian court system back in July 2013. It’s recent decisions seem to collide with Russian legislation regulating what is and what is not a trademark infringement, as well as, with established practice. Different definitions A trademark infringement can incur civil, administrative or criminal liability under…
To ensure you don’t miss out on interesting IP law developments reported on our other IP blogs, we will, on a regular basis, provide you with an overview of the top 3 most-read posts from each of our IP law blogs. Here are the top posts from March and April. Top 3 Kluwer Copyright Blog…
The federal district court in Bowling Green, Kentucky, correctly held that a horse-race gambling platform (the “System”) developed by defendant Exacta Systems and used by defendant Kentucky Downs at its horse–racing track, did not infringe the trademarks owned by several plaintiff owners of horse-racing tracks when it displayed information, including the names of the plaintiffs’…
3-D Mark litigation is like life itself – you never know what you’re going to get. And for that reason, it’s all the more enjoyable when a 3-D registration prevails over a knock-off. A notorious trader of perfume imitations was marketing the following perfume bottle – apparently feeling safe about the plaintiff’s product shape, registered…
In a recent case, the Swedish Supreme Court clarified the calculation of damages awarded to a defendant based on a claim of loss of profit due to a preliminary injunction in an unsuccessful infringement case. The court held that the claimant has a strict liability for such damages and that the defendant does not have…
Can a scooter enjoy, contemporaneously, protection as a three-dimensional trademark (hereinafter 3D mark) and under copyright law? Apparently it can, at least according to the Court of Turin, which recently said so, with its decision no. 1900/2017 dating March 17, 2017. The case was started when Piaggio, maker of the scooter Vespa, asserted rights arising…
The recent Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) decision of Azumi v Zuma’s Choice Pet Products & Ors touches upon a Smörgåsbord of issues, including a discussion around the size of Azumi’s market share, the interplay of pet food and restaurants, the joint liability of a director, a dog claiming an own name defence, legal threats…
Initially, I thought that this would not be a topic for this trademark-specific blog but, having read a very interesting and inspiring post of my Chinese colleagues on specialized intellectual property courts in China, I changed my mind and decided to share with the Readers also some Poland-related updates… Following a meeting held on December…
