Trademark

A trade mark is a distinctive sign which indicates the origin of goods and services, usually refers to a registered trade marks

Community design, European Union, National law, Trademark

, (NautaDutilh)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Justice has rendered a crucial decision on the jurisdiction of the Community design courts over European co-defendants and the national law applicable to the measures sought. Nintendo holds various Community design rights for accessories for video game consoles, such as remote controls. It brought infringement proceedings in Germany against two companies: BigBen…

Appeal, Case law, Company names, Domain name, EU Trademark reform, European Union, Germany, Infringement, Preliminary ruling, Trade name, Trademark

(Löffel Abrar )/ /Leave a comment

The Regional High Court of Frankfurt rendered an interim injunction on appeal, which may have a great impact on the question if and to which extent the owner of an earlier trade mark can take action against the use of a colliding trade name or company name in Germany (judgment of 1 June 2017, 6…

General Court, Trademark

, (BomhardIP)/ /Leave a comment

Muesli – denied recognition in its birth place (T-103/16) Refusal of EUTM application for based on earlier mark ALPEN for cereals   For many Europeans, the Alps are a common denominator for mountains, milk, dairy products, muesli, chocolate, ski, hiking, peacefulness or natural wonders. However, the General Court had a slightly different view. In its…

Trademark

(Lubberger Lehment ) and (Lubberger Lehment)/ /Leave a comment

Trademark questions pop up in practically every M&A transaction. Many of these questions are straightforward, some require specialist knowledge. Specialists like to demonstrate as much of their knowledge as possible, and even IP lawyers are not always immune to this. But M&A transactions are not the place for such demonstrations. Disproportionate attention to negligible detail,…

Austria, Case law, Infringement, Trademark

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Can the use of “KHG” infringe the name rights of “Karl-Heinz Grasser”? Former Austrian Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser is widely known as KHG. After his term, which ended in 2007, he was accused of bribery in various cases. The accusations and investigations gained great public attention. In 2015, the defendants, a journalist who publishes…

Trademark

, (Gorrissen Federspiel)/ /Leave a comment

In our latest post  we explored the numerous benefits of the registered design under Danish law. By contrast, this post will cover the possibilities of enforcement with regard to products not protected as neither a registered nor an unregistered community design. Although the registered community design includes substantial advantages, the proprietor of an unprotected design…

Confusion, Food, Infringement, National marks, similarity of goods and services, Sweden, Trademark

(Cirio Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

In a case earlier this spring, the Swedish Patent and Market Court dismissed an infringement action based on the reputed mark SOFIERO in relation to beers against SOFIERO KAFFEROSTERI used for coffee. The court concluded that coffee beans and ground coffee are dissimilar to beer and that the relevant consumer is not likely to find…

Case law, Germany, Level of similarity of marks, Opposition, Trademark

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Where the marks differ in only a single additional letter at the end of one of the marks, can the resulting similarity be “neutralized” by the conceptual differences? The German Federal Patent Court decided on 19 June 2017 that the opposing mark “Combit” and the attacked mark  were overall dissimilar and that, even if there…