A trade mark is a distinctive sign which indicates the origin of goods and services, usually refers to a registered trade marks
Trademark lawyer Verena von Bomhard moved to Spain in 1996 when her firm asked her to open up a branch near the then new OHIM in Alicante. She never looked back. ‘IP-law is just so tangible. I must say I loved it from day one.’ It was Spanish that got her into IP-law and a bit of…
Traditionally, ‘gömböc’ has been the name of a kind of Hungarian food specialty, also called ‘disznósajt’ (‘pork-cheese’), similar to the Scottish haggis: pig’s stomach filled with leftovers. In a folk tale, the gömböc devours the members of an entire family one after the other, until the youngest son slits it open from the inside with…
We all know the iconic Aspirin® paper package with the white and green parallel portions against which the name of the product is written in black letters: This package stands out from other pain killer packages sold over the counter (OTC) such as for example or …
In a recent case decided by the Court of Venice (decision n. 2355/2018), MHCS, the producer, inter alia, of the famous Veuve Clicquot champagne, prevailed against a prosecco producer who used orange labels on its prosecco, based on its abstract colour mark “jaune orange” registered as an EUTM. However, absent proof of acquired distinctiveness for…
Recently, the Danish Commercial and Maritime High Court balanced the legal interest in the family name Ørsted against the commercial interest in the name of Ørsted by ruling on the right to register and use several trademarks and domains including or consisting of ØRSTED. This is the second blog on the use of family names…
Cour de cassation, Chambre commerciale, March 27, 2019, Appeal No. T 17-28.213 The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) overturned the judgment of the Paris Court of appeals (here) which had denied similarity between goods and services on the ground that they were only indirectly related, because the Court of appeals should have examined whether…
With decision of 25th February 2019, the German Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) has ruled on the registrability of a celebrity name for inter alia publications in class 16. The Bundespatentgericht is the appeals court for decisions of the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). Franziska van Almsick, one of the most successful swimmers of recent…
In a judgment of 27 February 2019, the Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal (PMÖD) stated that a registration of a trademark in black and white cannot in itself result in protection in relation to all colour combinations. This is a turnaround of the practice established in Sweden since the 1960’s. The PMÖD has, unlike the Patent and…
The question of how far descriptive or non-distinctive trademarks which somehow managed to be registered may be enforced is of particular relevance in jurisdictions like Germany which acknowledge their incontestability ten years after registration. The more recent approach of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) was that it accepted likelihood of confusion also in a…
It was a long and cold winter in most of Canada – more so than usual and during that time, the Canadian IP community kept busy shoveling snow and preparing for the many amendments to Canada’s Trademarks Act, finally confirmed to be in force on June 17, 2019 (the “coming into force” or CIF date)….
