In a recent decision, the Portuguese Court of Intellectual Property confirmed a surprising interpretation of the exception for the revocation of a trademark on grounds of non-use – namely proper reasons for non-use. The Industrial Property Office had rejected a revocation request against the protection in the Portuguese territory of an international trademark assuming that…
Due to the variety of economic agents operating on the Portuguese market, some judicial disputes frequently arise regarding the registration rights derived from trademarks and trade names legally constituted. When these situations occur there is a collision of registration rights. The Lisbon Court of Appeal has recently dealt with one case in which the holder…
The Lisbon Court of Appeal has recently confirmed a decision – debatable, as we will further develop – from the IP Court. In this matter, a wine company owns a trademark “QUINTA DE PANCAS”, which refers to a wine producing. The bottles in which these wines are commercialized show an image of a manor, the…
Throughout the years the correct interpretation of article 266, paragraph 4, of the Portuguese Industrial Property Code (PIPC) was unclear. This provision states that annulment actions must be filed within the 10-year period beginning on the date of issue of the registration grant order, without prejudice to the right to apply for annulment of a…
The Portuguese market has been recently overrun by new brands and stores of “low-cost” perfumes. Their business relies on the idea of selling low-cost versions of the original perfumes, identified only by the olfactory families; the business model implicitly and explicitly presupposes that such perfumes are marketed as corresponding to the bestselling perfumes, in terms…
