Is being environmentally friendly a quality which matters for consumers? And if it does, what it is “allure”? On the judgment of the General Court of 12 December 2018 in case T-253/17 regarding genuine use of the sign of Der Grüne Punkt Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH is the owner of a…
The discrepancy between the case law using geographical origin as a reason for rejection of a trademark in the EU and at the DKPTO, respectively, is becoming increasingly noticeable; most recently with the judgement from the General Court in T-122/17 DEVIN on the registrability of the geographical name DEVIN. The discrepancy concerns the issue when…
It would be fair to say that the implementation of GDRP last year caused a number of headaches for businesses that handle personal data. However, one of the lesser publicised implications of GDPR was the redaction of all WHOIS information for registered domain names. Suddenly, information about the registrant of a domain name, i.e. WHOIS…
In a recent case from the Swedish Patent and Market Court, the court dismissed Dalecarlia Chocolates AB’s (Dalecarlia) infringement claim of their EU and Swedish 3D marks in relation to chocolate, candy and confectionery (class 30). The 3D marks, depicted below, are formed as a Dala horse – a traditional, wooden horse statue originating from…
The creators of a seminar critical of Applied Underwriters Inc.’s EquityComp insurance program did not infringe or dilute Applied’s federally registered trademarks by using them in the name of their seminar or the promotional materials related to it, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has held. In affirming a district court’s dismissal because…
Nepalese businesses have been exploiting well-known brands such as KFC, Center Fresh, Adidas, Nike, etc. In Nepal a restaurant named KKFC resembles the American fast food chain KFC; a Nepalese brand named Center Fillz closely resembles Centre Fresh; and, knockoffs of Adidas and Nike can be found. This is due to the absence of effective…
On 14 January 2019, on the date of the deadline, the German Trademark Modernization Act entered into force (with the wonderfully uniquely German name of “Markenrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz” – short: “MaMoG”). The Trademark Modernization Act implements the mandatory and several optional provisions contained in the revised EU Trade Mark Directive 2015/2436 of 16 December 2015 in Germany….
The Board erred by disregarding evidence of the lender’s longtime use of its mark in the same location as a similar registered mark, without consumer confusion. Because this was evidence that confusion was unlikely, the Board’s error was not harmless. Case date: 14 January 2019 Case number: No. 2017-2620 Court: United States Court of Appeals, Federal…
In a plenary vote that took place on January 17, 2019, the lower house of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) adopted a bill amending the IP Law, the main purpose of which is – not a big surprise these days – to transpose the EU Trademark Directive 2015/2436 to the Polish trademark system (with just a…
After a Christmas full of German chocolate, French wine and Italian coffee, the UK has now turned its attention once more to its membership within the EU, and the impending lack thereof. With yesterday’s vote, Parliament voted against the deal proposed by the Prime Minister, to govern the British exit of the European Union. The…
