A trade mark is a distinctive sign which indicates the origin of goods and services, usually refers to a registered trade marks
The wordings of Article 7(1)(f) EUTMR (for ease of reference: ‘trade marks which is contry to public policy or to accepted principles of moral’) and the Danish equivalent – Section 14(1)(1) of the Danish Consolidate Trade Marks Act – are very broad and allow much room for interpretation. A judicious application of this provision necessarily…
Cour de Cassation, Chambre Commerciale, January 31, 2018, Appeal No. C 16-10.761 The French Supreme Court emphasizes that the reputation of the earlier mark is a relevant factor in the assessment of likelihood of confusion and gives it wider protection. In 2009, adidas initiated an infringement action in France relying on its famous three stripes…
In a recent judgement, the Swiss Federal Administrative Court once again confirmed its (too) strict position with regard to the registration of shape marks. The court ruled that a three-dimensional mark consisting of the graphical background of a popular chocolate bar’s packaging could not be registered since the design was not perceived as an indication…
The issue of registration of state names as trademarks has recently been the subject of a Paris Court of Appeal ruling (22 September 2017). The US company France.com Inc. was the proprietor of the domain name “france.com” registered since 1994. The Dutch company Traveland Resorts registered in its own name a number of…
By virtue of law 4512/2018, which was published on 17 January 2018, all disputes concerning trademarks, patents and industrial designs initiated before civil courts in Greece are subject to mandatory mediation. Hearing of the cases shall be inadmissible if the mediation process stipulated in the law has not been followed. The provisions shall start to…
Fast-track trademark and patent registration has become available in Russia. That has definitely made Russia one of the most favorable jurisdictions in Europe, at least when it comes to the length of time you spend. Early in April, the Russian Patent Office (Rospatent) officially launched a service for fast-track registration of trademarks….
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…
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…
This post is the sequel to the post ‘Trademarks in Transactions – Part I: Due Diligence’ which dealt with trademark issues which regularly arise during the due diligence phase of an M&A transaction. Once the due diligence phase is over, and often already during the due diligence phase, the parties of an M&A transaction will…
