Countries

Case law, Confusion, Domain name, Figurative mark, Germany, Jurisdiction, Registrability, Sign used in the course of trade, Switzerland, Trade name, Trademark

(MLL Meyerlustenberger Lachenal Froriep AG)/ /Leave a comment

The German Football Association (DFB) owns the international mark “Deutscher Fussball-Bund” (with device) with basic registration in Germany (see image below), claiming protection for a wide variety of merchandise. The registration was notified to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in April 2014. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property refused to protect the…

Case law, United States

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

The federal district court in Salt Lake City did not err in terminating Leland Sycamore’s rights under a trademark license agreement (TLA) that granted him the right to use the “Grandma Sycamore’s Home Maid Bread” and “Grandma Sycamore’s Home Maid Bread Design” trademarks (the Sycamore marks), or in the scope of a permanent injunction it…

Confusion, Food, similarity of goods and services, The Netherlands

(NLO Shieldmark)/ /Leave a comment

Last month the Dutch District Court of The Hague decided in case C/09/520643 / HA ZA that there is no likelihood of confusion between SINA rice and SITA rice. This is somewhat remarkable considering earlier decisions on similar comparisons between four letter signs in relation to foodstuffs. The reason for denying likelihood of confusion lies…

Bundesgerichtshof, Case law, Genuine use, Germany, Non Use

(b/cl IP)/ /Leave a comment

Combining trademarks with further elements or sub-brands is quite popular. A recent decision of the German Federal Supreme reminds once more what to watch out for if you do not want to lose your trademark rights (decision of 11 May 2017 in Case I ZB 6/16). The owner of the German word mark registration for…

Appeal, Case law, Company names, Domain name, EU Trademark reform, European Union, Germany, Infringement, Preliminary ruling, Trade name, Trademark

(Löffel Abrar )/ /Leave a comment

The Regional High Court of Frankfurt rendered an interim injunction on appeal, which may have a great impact on the question if and to which extent the owner of an earlier trade mark can take action against the use of a colliding trade name or company name in Germany (judgment of 1 June 2017, 6…

Denmark, Infringement

, (Gorrissen Federspiel)/ /Leave a comment

Increasingly, it seems that complex trademark cases are not always decided on the basis of trademark law and EUTMR alone but also on the basis of general legal principles, such as estoppel (in Danish “passivitet”), and much less often acquiescence. We have written two blogs on the subject seen from a Danish perspective. This first…

Appeal, Distinctiveness, United Kingdom, Weak elements in trademarks

(Stobbs IP)/ /Leave a comment

This case concerns the first appeal from a Hearing Officer of the UK Intellectual Property Office (“UK IPO”) to the Scottish Court of Session.   The dispute at issue was between CCHG Limited t/a Vaporized (the “Appellant”) and Vapouriz Limited (the “Respondent”).  The Respondent had brought an invalidity action before the UK IPO based on…

Case law, United States

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board did not err in refusing to register the trademark FIRST TUESDAY for lottery games and services, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled. According to the court, the mark described a feature of the applicant’s goods and services: scratch-off lottery tickets that the applicant (the…

Austria, Case law, Infringement, Trademark

(Geistwert)/ /Leave a comment

Can the use of “KHG” infringe the name rights of “Karl-Heinz Grasser”? Former Austrian Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser is widely known as KHG. After his term, which ended in 2007, he was accused of bribery in various cases. The accusations and investigations gained great public attention. In 2015, the defendants, a journalist who publishes…

Case law, Confusion, Denmark

, (Gorrissen Federspiel)/ /Leave a comment

The Swedish company producing high quality beds Hästens Sängar AB (hereafter “Hästens”) has in several jurisdictions (DK, EU, US, SE, NO, CH, FI, ES etc.) applied for the mark (hereafter “the figurative mark”) or variations thereof. Recently, in T-359/12 (C-363/15) Louis Vuitton Malletier’s mark         was refused by the Court. For this reason it was evident…