The UK Intellectual Property Office has recently declared invalid Birkenstock’s UK trade mark registration for the pattern on the sole of their shoes. The decision of the Appointed Person, James Mellor QC, not only considers a slightly unusual mark, it also provides helpful guidance on factors to consider if a brand owner is trying to…
The federal district court in Tampa properly determined that a karaoke disc jockey’s use of unauthorized copies of karaoke tracks displaying Phoenix Entertainment Partners’ SOUND CHOICE mark did not constitute trademark infringement or unfair competition under the Lanham Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ruled in an unpublished decision. Adopting the reasoning…
In Germany, an opposition against a German trade mark can be based not only on a trade mark but also on a company name or trade name. In brief, under German law, a company name is the official name or designation of a trader or an undertaking including a catch word, for example “Mc Donald’s…
For some time, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) has taken the approach that when an opposition is based on the reputation associated with earlier EU rights, then those earlier EU rights need to be reputed also in Denmark to enjoy the enhanced protection provided by reputation in oppositions against national Danish trademark applications….
The first-ever ADR domain name proceedings took place in Slovakia since introduction of the procedure in September 2017. The case involved a dispute over the domain name <vogue.sk>. The complainant – publishing company Les Publications Conde Nast S.A. as the owner of the VOGUE trademarks sought the transfer of the disputed domain name against the…
On February 13, 2018, the Russian Constitutional Court issued a judgement in which it checked whether the existing regime of parallel import was in line with the Constitution. Although grey import has remained illegal, the burden of proof has dramatically changed: now infringers have almost 50 legal reasons to pay less and minimize the risks…
The IP-related provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, signed and ratified by Ukraine in 2014, came into force on September 1, 2017. New rules regulating the non-use grace period for trademarks were thereby introduced. Where the existing trademark law provides for a 3-year non-use grace period, Article 198 of the Agreement sets forth the 5-year…
On 28th February, the EU Commission published the Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (the “Draft”), as can be viewed here, with commentary here. In a week of weather warnings, plunging temperatures and de-icer fume…
On 17 January 2018, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) held that affixing a prior trademark, without consent, to products exclusively intended for export to and lawful sale in China constitutes trademark infringement. The dispute involved the French wine company Castel Frères, owner of a number of French and European trademarks for alcoholic beverages and…
In a decision of 17 January 2018 (HR-2018-110-A), the Norwegian Supreme Court concludes that trade mark protection covers instances where there is a clear possibility that damage to the functions of a trade mark may occur only after the products have been sold. This is the first decision after joining the EEA in which the…
