This article looks at whether advertisers and referencing service providers, such as Google or Bing, involved in keyword advertising can be held liable in Spain on grounds of trademark infringement on the basis of case-law from the past three years. In short, referencing services in general will not be liable, while advertisers, essentially, have to…

Florida businessman Steven S. West was liable for over $913,000 in damages for infringing a service mark held by Omaha-based construction and mining company Kiewit Sons’, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis has decided (Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc. v. Wall Street Equity Group, Inc., January 6, 2016, Kelly, J.). A federal district…

The Board of Directors of Sapphire Bay Condominiums West was unable to state Lanham Act claims against a disgruntled condominium owner who operated a website to complaint about the Board, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia (The Board of Directors of Sapphire Bay Condominiums West v. Simpson, December 21, 2015, McKee, T.)….

The IP offices of the European Trade Mark and Design Network, including the Danish Patent and Trademark Office have agreed on a Common Practice in relation to when a figurative mark, containing purely descriptive/non-distinctive words, passes the absolute grounds examination because the figurative element renders sufficient distinctive character. In Denmark this new practice will be…

An individual was in violation of a permanent injunction barring him from using BMW’s “MINI” trademarks in connection with an online store selling apparel bearing the brand name “Mini Works,” the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has held. The court also affirmed an order amending the injunction to require the individual to transfer…

According to the Spanish Supreme Court, three-dimensional marks consisting of the shape of the product or its packaging are not considered to be genuinely used when used in conjunction with a highly distinctive word mark. Kraft Foods Galletas, S.A. (now Mondelez España Galletas Productions, S.L.), subsidiary of Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC (now Intercontinental Great…