Red Bull GmbH v Big Horn UK Limited & Ors [2020] EWHC 124 (Ch) This case is an interesting commentary on the route that rights holders can pursue in order to challenge lookalike products. Historically, proprietors of well-known brands, particularity in the FMCG market, have found it difficult to succeed in an Article 9(2)(b) claim…
On 25 February 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have officially withdrawn their trade mark applications for the words “SUSSEX ROYAL” and “SUSSEX ROYAL THE FOUNDATION OF THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX”. The couple further announced that they will stop using the brand from Spring 2020. The couple launched their brand last April…
“What the FACK just happened?!”, some thought, when the CJEU delivered its judgment on the registrability of the trademark FACK JU GÖHTE on 27 February 2020. In case you are unfamiliar with the case, FACK JU is a phonetic transcription in German of “fuck you” and GÖHTE alludes to the late German writer Goethe. Following…
Many trade mark owners will rejoice in CJEU’s decision in Skykick this week as the CJEU ruled that overly broad specifications will not automatically render a registered mark invalid and that the lack of intention to use the mark at the time of its application will not necessarily result in bad faith. Is this a…
Since our last article, so many things have happened that it is sometimes hard to follow what is going on! Here is a snapshot to keep you updated. As you all know, Boris Johnson has now replaced Theresa May as the new leader of the Conservative Party and the new Prime Minister of the UK….
With the original Brexit date now having passed (29 March 2019), it is worth reflecting on where we now find ourselves, as brand owners/IP professionals with interests in the UK and EU. The EU has granted the UK a ‘flextension’ to the Article 50 period until 31 October 2019, with the option to leave sooner…
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the UK government, and what can now only be described as the Brexit nightmare rumbles on. Despite the deadline for the UK’s departure from the EU being just over a week away, we are still no clearer on how or when exactly this will take place, with…
After a Christmas full of German chocolate, French wine and Italian coffee, the UK has now turned its attention once more to its membership within the EU, and the impending lack thereof. With yesterday’s vote, Parliament voted against the deal proposed by the Prime Minister, to govern the British exit of the European Union. The…
The position which the UK may face if it leaves the EU with no deal in place, is discussed in a separate post accessible here. This post will discuss the Draft Withdrawal Agreement and its implications for brand owners, in the event that it is adopted in March 2019. The updated draft Withdrawal…
As set out in our previous post, the UK Government recently published a series of White Papers, detailing their envisioned protocol for the treatment of IP rights, following a no deal Brexit. Shortly after this development, the United Kingdom Government published the Withdrawal Agreement, as has now been agreed by the Cabinet. This document will…
