The Paris Court of Appeal ruled that the French figurative trademark owned by Mr. Christian Louboutin and designating “high‑heeled shoes (except orthopedic footwear)” in Class 25, reproduced above, is valid (Paris Court of Appeal, 15 May 2018, No. 17/07124). The trademark is described as follows: “The trademark consists of the color red (Pantone 18.1663TP) applied to the…
Several famous paintings – including ‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo da Vinci, ‘Liberty Leading the People’ by Eugène Delacroix, ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ by Auguste Renoir and significant Danish paintings – were accepted for registration in 2005 and 2014 by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO). Is it reasonable to obtain trademark registration of…
The Federal Administrative Court finds that APPLE cannot be protected as a trade mark for jewelry (cl. 14) and electronical toys including computer games (cl. 28). The Court says that the shape of an apple is of common use and understood as a reference to a feature of those products. The Institute for Intellectual Property…
The Court of Appeal of Arnhem/Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, in its decision of August 21, 2018 invalidated the Benelux trade mark registration of the so called S-shape for loosefill packing material (see below picture) because it consists exclusively of a shape that is necessary to obtain a technical result. The Court of Appeal…
On the 21 March 2018 the Danish Board of Appeal (“The Board”) delivered its decision regarding the trademark protection of the shape of the following potato snack (decision no. AN 2017 00006): The snack originates from the famous snack brand Kims which is owned by Orkla Confectionary & Snack Danmark A/S (“Orkla”). In the decision…
An administrative non-use revocation action has been available in Switzerland since January 1st, 2017. This action can be filed before the Swiss Trademark Office (IPI) against both National Swiss Trademark Registrations and Swiss designations of International Trademark Registrations. Earlier this year, the IPI published a first statistical report regarding the newly introduced procedure: 61 revocation…
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal of Milan upheld a 2015 ruling by the Court of Milan which recognized copyright protection of the concept store of Kiko, the Italian make-up brand, and blocked competitor Wycon from using similar store decor in its shops. (Court of Appeal decision no. 1543/18, Kiko-Wycon, March 26, 2018). Kiko’s…
More than four years since major amendments to the Canadian Trademarks Act were passed, the government has signaled that implementation is finally expected in the spring of 2019. These changes are the most significant changes since the 1950’s. The following changes are of primary interest: Elimination of use as a requirement for registration. Registration will…
As reported earlier this year, in a ruling dated February 12, 2018 by the Commercial Court of Kyiv in the case no. 910/14972/17, the judge effectively applied a five-year non-use grace period, as provided for under the Association Agreement with the EU (Art. 198), and rejected the non-use cancellation action, which was based on the…
The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Seattle district court’s dismissal of trademark infringement and false advertising claims filed against Amazon.com, Inc. by a seller on Amazon. The district court concluded that Amazon was not liable for promotional advertising emails that used the seller’s trademark because it did not imply a false association between Amazon…
