European Union

The EU is an economic and political association of certain European countries as a unit with internal free trade and common external tariffs.

cancellation, descriptive elements, Designation of Origin, Distinctive Character, European Union, Trademark

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Already in 2019, the Austrian Supreme Court (“OGH”) had confirmed the lower instance decisions cancelling the Austrian figurative mark “SW Sophienwald” for being decriptive of its geographical origin for glassware and related goods in classes 14, 21 and 33 (decision of 26.11.2019, case 4 Ob 152/19k, please refer to my prior blog post here). One year…

Cyprus, European Union, General Court

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My 20-year old son Victor has started reading Homer’s Iliad. When he is done, I will suggest him the reading of the whole HALLOUMI story, which is as epic as the ancient poems. Epics are the stories on geographical indications from this part of Europe. The Greeks fought fiercely (and successfully) to consolidate a GI…

Brexit, Case law, European Union, United Kingdom

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The start of 2024 marked a significant change in the UK legal landscape post-Brexit – the entry into force of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (‘REULA’). This is the first of two blogs looking at REULA, and at the UK Courts’ approach to EU law following the UK’s departure from the…

EUIPO, European Union, EUTM, Figurative mark, General Court, Level of similarity of marks, Likelihood of confusion

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A recent decision by the General Court deals with the weight of figurative elements in the overall impression of a sign. Facts The applicant applied for the registration of the following sign as an EU trademark for ‘publication of printed matter for advertising purposes’ (class 35) and for ‘entertainment services’ in class 41: The intervener…

Case law, CJEU, Countries, European Union, EUTM, Hungary, Norway, Trademark

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Registrability of Works of Art as Trademarks   Recently, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (“HIPO”) have been asked in several cases to examine whether a work of art, in particular a painting, can be registered as a trademark. If a work of art is protected by copyright,…

European Union, EUTM, Invalidity, Lack of distinctiveness, Poland, Preliminary ruling, Trademark

(Osborne Clarke, University of Wrocław)/ /Leave a comment

In Case C-654/21, the CJEU ruled on a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie (XXII Division of the District Court in Warsaw, Poland) in a dispute between two individuals. The dispute concerned an action for infringement of the European Union trade mark “MULTISELECT” brought before the Warsaw IP Court and…

European Union, Legislation, News

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All trademark news that you might have missed last month in one convenient overview. Read up on the latest news reported by the Kluwer IP Reporter. Madrid Protocol fees revised for New Zealand Based on the provisions of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol Concerning the International Registration of Marks, the Director…

(Preliminary) Injunction, Appeal, Copyright, European Union, Spain, Trademark, Unfair advantage

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The EUTM Appellate Court of Alicante has confirmed the pan- European injunction preventing the manufacture and commercialization of unauthorized versions of Ferrari’s one-off models by 3D printing   Court decision no. 7/23 of 10 February 2023 of the EUTM Court of Alicante has confirmed the interim measures aimed at preventing the manufacture and commercialization of…