Actions which impinge upon the monopoly granted by an Intellectual Property right are considered infringements.
In the past few weeks, almost contemporaneously, two courts cases dealt with the scope of protection of the PDO “Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena” and the PGI “Aceto Balsamico di Modena”. Both courts agreed that ACETO and BALSAMICO are generic and common terms which do not fall under the scope of protection of PDOs/PGIs, but…
“Reverse trademark confusion” infringement theory suffices for liability but does not support recovery of infringer’s profits. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago has affirmed a Wisconsin federal jury’s verdict finding that defendant JFTCO, Inc. (“JFTCO”) infringed the registered FABICK trademark owned by plaintiff Fabick, Inc. (“FI”). The court also affirmed two district court rulings…
There was no evidence that the firm’s marks achieved secondary meaning, and the same marks were being used as trademarks as well as service marks in the advertising space. Plaintiffs and Appellants Engage Healthcare Communications, L.L.C., Greenhill Healthcare Communications, L.L.C. and Center of Excellence Media, L.L.C. (“Engage”) lost their appeal of an order granting summary…
An efficient, reliable and cost-effective route for protecting trademarks globally through the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol will be beneficial for IP-right holders. For a period of five years from the date of the international registration, the protection resulting from the international registration remains dependent on the BASIC application or registration also known as…
The Czech Supreme Court issued a judgment in the case of Fiskars Corporation against Mountfield a.s. (23 Cdo 5955/2017-231 dated 29 May 2019). Fiskars sued Mountfield, a home improvement and gardening retailer, among others, for trademark infringement consisting in illegal parallel imports from North America to the EU of Fiskars branded axes. The defendant did…
District court correctly held that trademark owner failed to raise genuine factual issue as to secondary meaning of the asserted mark. A federal district court correctly found that a non-profit corporation that promotes and helps run the annual Fiestas de le Calle San Sebastian festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico lacked evidence to sustain its…
The Uruguayan Criminal Court of First Instance Specialized in Organized Crime has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites that retransmit sporting events illegally, thereby infringing the copyright to this content (Fox International Channels v. Puerto 80 Projects SLU). This is an important judicial precedent in Uruguay where no such blocking order had been…
In 2018 Argentina unexpectedly amended the Trademark Law for the first time since 1981. The changes are promising as the Argentine government aimed to expedite proceedings and empower the Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”). However, it has been a bumpy ride so far, so this is what you need to know about the changes…
On 12 June 2015, four Montevideo stores were detected selling perfumes that used trademarks and imitated the general appearance of trademarked products without authorization. The perfumes were: “HUGO BOOS, LOCASTE, SPORT HILFIGER, STORY OF FLOWER, POISON, CHANGL, ANGEL OU DEMON, J`ADOTE, J`ABEA”, and inside the stores posters advertised “COCO CHANEL PERFUMES and FLOWER KENZO”. In…
In a recent decision[1] the Calcutta High Court (“Court”) upheld the use of the word ‘Darjeeling’ for the 5-star hotel lounge operated by ITC Limited (“ITC”). The ‘Darjeeling lounge’ was introduced by ITC in January 2003. The plaintiff Tea Board, a state agency established to promote cultivation and trade of tea, held registrations for ‘Darjeeling’…
