Following a request for cancellation, the Federal Patent Court decided to cancel a shape mark for sweets arguing that it exclusively consisted of a shape necessary to obtain a technical result (Decision of the Federal Patent Court of 27 December 2016 on Case 25 W (pat) 59/14). The cancellation request was directed against the German…
The Spanish Supreme Court has held that there is no risk of confusion between the word trade mark “Toro” (owned by Osborne Group, S.A., the notorious beverage company) and the word trade mark “Badtoro” (owned by Jordi Nogués, S.L., and filed for goods and services in classes 25 and 35 – relating to clothing-). Firstly,…
On 3. February 2017 the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection presented a draft of an act to implement Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie (EU) 2015/2436 des Europäischen Parlaments und des…
Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian could not force the arbitration of trademark infringement claims that Kroma Makeup EU had brought against them, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ruled. The court found that Florida’s doctrine of equitable estoppel allowed a non-signatory to an agreement—in this case, a licensing agreement between Kroma EU and…
The GOLDEN BALLS saga continues: after losing in the last round before the Board of Appeal of the EUIPO, Golden Balls Limited has once again taken its case (or cause?) to the General Court in Luxembourg (“GC”) (pending case T‑8/17). For recollection: in 2007, two applications for registration of GOLDEN BALLS as EU trademarks were…
This morning at roughly 09:30 am the UK’s Supreme Court handed down their decision relating to whether Theresa May, the British Prime Minster, is constitutionally authorised to trigger art. 50. At roughly 09:35, a plethora of speculative dissections of the decision hit the media, to varying degrees of accuracy. As was covered in the previous…
Congratulations Thomas! Of all those who took the quiz, you got the highest number of correct answers! Your prize is the recently published 2nd edition of the Concise European Trade Mark and Design Law commentary – the Little Blue IP Book. We hope it will make your everyday life easier – and increase the number…
When doing clearing searches for new trademarks, companies often find themselves facing one or several old trademark registrations that are subject to the use requirement and apparently not in use. Thus, they may consider bringing a cancellation action for non-use against the trademark(s) in question. Companies are sometimes hesitant to bring such actions because they…
Of all the political upheavals seen during 2016, we in Britain are quietly smug that ours has the best name. A notable mention going, of course, to the winners of best hair: the United States. Stobbs is delighted to offer a series of updates over the coming months relating to the British exit from the…
The UK Court of Appeal’s (Criminal Division) (CoA) judgment in R v C & Ors [2016] EWCA Crim 1617 provides a positive result for brand owners tackling the thorny issue of grey goods. Here, the CoA held that selling grey goods can constitute a criminal offence under s.92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA)….
