The EU is an economic and political association of certain European countries as a unit with internal free trade and common external tariffs.
The General Court (GC) has recently confirmed that the figurative European Union trademark no. 002810299 consisting of two parallel stripes on the side of a shoe lacked distinctiveness (T-307/23 of 23.10.2024 – Jima Projects vs. EUIPO). The decision is noteworthy, as it confirms previous case law that a “branding practice” does not automatically render…
Trademark law has a front-row seat to the rise of greenwashing. Since studies have shown that over 90% of consumers are attracted to brands prioritizing sustainability, the temptation to register and use “green trademarks” is considerable. The EUIPO has noted that from 1996 to 2022, the annual growth rate of green European Union Trademark (EUTM)…
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…
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…
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…
To ensure you don’t miss out on interesting IP law developments reported on our other IP blogs, we will, on a regular basis, provide you with an overview of the most-read posts from each of our IP law blogs. Here are the most popular posts over the past few months. Top 3 Kluwer Copyright…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
