Jurisdiction

Appeal, Case law, Company names, Domain name, Lack of distinctiveness, National law, National marks, similarity of goods and services, Switzerland, Trade name, Trademark

(MLL Meyerlustenberger Lachenal Froriep AG)/ /Leave a comment

The Federal Administrative Court partially overturned a decision of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE) refusing protection for Apple’s word mark “iMessage” for telecommunication services in class 38.   The Administrative Court agreed with the IPO that “iMessage” lacked original distinctiveness for messaging services, because such services were closely linked to the internet,…

Denmark, Design Rights, Infringement

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This blog will explore potential disadvantages of failing to utilise the registered community design (hereafter RCD) in a Danish context with a particular emphasis on cheap imitations of luxury consumer goods.  The point of reference will be a November 2016 case from the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court (the “Court”) concerning rubber boots made…

Brexit, European Union, United Kingdom

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With perhaps more of a gentle fizz than a bang, the Brexit negotiations finally got underway towards the end of last month. One might be forgiven for having missed this development, given the backdrop of a tragic fire in London and anger directed at the governmental response. Indeed, the outward glare held by many Britons…

Denmark, Lack of distinctiveness

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In Copenhagen around one third of the workforce bike to work. That amounts to more than one million kilometers being pedaled every day. Next to the Dutch the Danes are the population in Europe that bike the most. For this reason it is only natural that conflicts should arise in Denmark between owners of trademarks…

Case law, United States

, (Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City has affirmed a district court’s decision that Macy’s Merchandising Group’s MAISON JULES line of women’s clothing—a private brand sold almost exclusively in Macy’s stores—did not infringe the trademark JOULES, owned by clothing retailer Joules Limited. Consumer confusion between the parties’ marks was not likely. Although the…

Case law, Germany

(Löffel Abrar )/ /Leave a comment

The Cologne Higher Regional Court was asked to decide on an alleged infringement of German unfair competition law by the look of a trade dress of tea drinks bottles. In summary, the court rejected the claim since the bottles of the parties showed different product and manufacturer names (judgment of 28 April 2017, Case 6…

European Union, Infringement action, National law, National marks, Sweden, Trademark

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On 17 May 2017, the Swedish Patent and Market Court (the “PMD”) decided a case whereby it held that Nestlé’s expansion of its cat food brand “PURINA felix” into Sweden infringed the reputed Swedish foodstuff trademark FELIX, and that the fact that PURINA felix was previously used and enjoyed recognition in another EU country did not…

Company names, Domain name, EUTM, Genuine use, Level of similarity of marks, Names, National marks, Opposition, The Netherlands, Trademark

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In a decision of a Dutch District Court earlier this year[1], the American fast-food chain Wendy’s suffered a loss against a local Dutch snack restaurant, which bears the name WENDY’S. The trademark registration owned by the same snack restaurant blocks the American chain to enter the market. Although this case has similarities with the story…

Case law, United States

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

A federal district court did not err in awarding a preliminary injunction to Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian and their companies—2Die4Kourt, Kimsaprincess Inc., and Khlomoney Inc.—that barred Hillair Capital Management and four related individuals and entities from using the Kardashians’ trademarks, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled. The preliminary injunction was…