With perhaps more of a gentle fizz than a bang, the Brexit negotiations finally got underway towards the end of last month. One might be forgiven for having missed this development, given the backdrop of a tragic fire in London and anger directed at the governmental response. Indeed, the outward glare held by many Britons…
In Copenhagen around one third of the workforce bike to work. That amounts to more than one million kilometers being pedaled every day. Next to the Dutch the Danes are the population in Europe that bike the most. For this reason it is only natural that conflicts should arise in Denmark between owners of trademarks…
The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City has affirmed a district court’s decision that Macy’s Merchandising Group’s MAISON JULES line of women’s clothing—a private brand sold almost exclusively in Macy’s stores—did not infringe the trademark JOULES, owned by clothing retailer Joules Limited. Consumer confusion between the parties’ marks was not likely. Although the…
The Cologne Higher Regional Court was asked to decide on an alleged infringement of German unfair competition law by the look of a trade dress of tea drinks bottles. In summary, the court rejected the claim since the bottles of the parties showed different product and manufacturer names (judgment of 28 April 2017, Case 6…
Nestlé was last month dealt another blow in its relentless bid to register the 3D shape of its famous four-fingered bar. The Court of Appeal (CoA) of England & Wales last month upheld the High Court’s earlier decision, rejecting the four bar Kit Kat. The background to the case can be found here, but the…
On 17 May 2017, the Swedish Patent and Market Court (the “PMD”) decided a case whereby it held that Nestlé’s expansion of its cat food brand “PURINA felix” into Sweden infringed the reputed Swedish foodstuff trademark FELIX, and that the fact that PURINA felix was previously used and enjoyed recognition in another EU country did not…
In a decision of a Dutch District Court earlier this year[1], the American fast-food chain Wendy’s suffered a loss against a local Dutch snack restaurant, which bears the name WENDY’S. The trademark registration owned by the same snack restaurant blocks the American chain to enter the market. Although this case has similarities with the story…
A federal district court did not err in awarding a preliminary injunction to Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian and their companies—2Die4Kourt, Kimsaprincess Inc., and Khlomoney Inc.—that barred Hillair Capital Management and four related individuals and entities from using the Kardashians’ trademarks, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled. The preliminary injunction was…
The Swiss Federal Administrative Court overturned a decision of the Swiss Trademark Office and allowed the word marks “SCHWEIZER SALINEN”, “SALINE SVIZZERE”, “SALINES SUISSES”, “SWISS SALINES”, “SWISS SALT WORKS” on the ground that these were distinctive by virtue of the monopoly that the Applicant enjoys on the Swiss salt market. Schweizer Salinen AG’s five Swiss…
This important decision by the German Federal Supreme Court of 15 January 2017 is about how the protection against copying under unfair competition law interplays with trademark and patent law: The plaintiff manufactures and sells anchor bolts which are used to mount traffic signs: The defendant offers the following bolts: Until 2006, the plaintiff’s bolt…
