Anti- Counterfeiting, Case law, CJEU, EU trade mark law, European Union, Grey online sales, Infringement, Preliminary ruling, Reputation, Selective distribution system, Trademark

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment
Amazon

Another high-profile Louboutin case, although this time it’s less about the protection of the red sole as such than the liability of online retail platforms. The Court of Justice (CJEU) handed down a preliminary ruling in a case involving Christian Louboutin on the one hand and Amazon on the other, one referred from Luxembourg and…

Case law, CJEU, Exhaustion of rights, Grey online sales, Poland, Trademark

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

On 13 October 2022 the Court of Justice (CJ) issued a preliminary ruling on corrective measures under the Enforcement Directive 2004/48. In this case (Case C-355/21), Procter & Gamble filed a trademark infringement claim against the Polish company perfumesco.pl. Procter & Gamble produced the perfume under the exclusive licence of the HUGO BOSS word-trademark. In…

CJEU, Community design, National law, Poland, Trademark

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

The debate over the protection of the iconic “AUDI” logo in Poland is currently being renewed (see here). An injunction was sought by AUDI to stop another party from importing, offering, marketing, and advertising radiator grilles that bear a sign that is identical to or similar to its EU trade mark (“EUTM”) for the following…

CJEU, Damage claims, Infringement action, National law, Poland, Preliminary ruling

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

Poland introduced specialized IP Courts on July 1, 2020, resulting in significant changes to preventive measures, including the conditions for requesting information regarding an infringement of an intellectual property right. The IP Court in Warsaw has in the meantime referred a preliminary question to the Court of Justice (CJEU), namely: does one have to demonstrate…

Case law, EUIPO, Genuine use, revocation

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

As you may recall from our post on the ‘Sony Vita’ invalidation case, where a trade mark is registered for a product but only used for something viewed by consumers as a different product, the trade mark right for the registered product for which it is not used is lost, even if it resembles the…

Case law, EU trade mark law, Genuine use, Reputation

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

On 1 September 2021, Sony’s ‘Vita’ trade mark lost out in genuine use revocation proceedings in the EU General Court (see case T‑561/20). The trade mark Vita had been registered by Sony for a variety of class 9 items, including “data carriers containing programs” and “audio and/or image carriers (not of paper).” Vieta Audio applied…

Case law, Infringement, Poland

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

On 18 May 2021, the Polish Supreme Court issued a much awaited ruling to resolve doubts concerning the national limitation period of non-pecuniary claims in trademark matters. The resolution was adopted in the context of an infringement case of the frontline EU trade mark (EUTM) owned by Audi AG (see below). The Supreme Court’s resolution…

Case law, Figurative mark, Infringement, Opposition, Poland

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

On 2 March 2021 the Polish Supreme Court finally decided that the famous Polish boxer Dariusz Michalczewski had won his case against FoodCare sp. z o.o. for the “Tiger” trademark for popular energy products (III CSKP 5/21). The internationally renowned Polish boxer Dariusz Michalczewski used the nickname “TIGER” during his sporting career. His nickname was…

Case law, CJEU, EUIPO, Likelihood of confusion, Spain

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

On 17 September the CJEU handed down a long-awaited judgment on a matter that thrilled sports fans and the IP community (C-449/18P, C-474/18P, available in French and Spanish). Footballer Lionel Messi Cuccittini is allowed to register his surname as a trademark for a sportswear brand after a nine-year legal battle. The trade mark is a…

Case law, European Union

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

We’ve been seeing a lot more interest from life sciences companies in applying for slogans recently. After all, advertising campaigns are increasingly a fierce battlefield for IP litigation.  However, slogan marks often run at but rarely manage to take the hurdle of distinctiveness applied by the EUIPO and usually confirmed by the European Courts. Two…