Fack Ju Göhte is the title of one of the most successful German comedy films in recent times. A EUTM application by Constantin Film Produktion GmbH for the wordmark “FACK JU GÖHTE”, mostly for merchandising products, was rejected by EUIPO for being “contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality”. On appeal, the…
Shape mark: form of a drinking bottle lacks distinctiveness in relation to perfumes A recent judgement of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court highlights the strict practice for the registration of shape marks. The court ruled that a 3D mark for perfumes cannot be entered in the trade mark register for perfumes in Class 3, since…
When Thomas McClary, a former member of the rhythm and blues, funk, and soul music band, The Commodores, left the band in 1984, he left behind any common-law rights he had in the band’s trademarks, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Those rights were retained by a corporation formed by two of…
The federal district court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, did not err in determining that Viacom’s BUBBLE GUPPIES animated children’s television show on the Nickelodeon Network and related merchandise did not infringe registered trademarks for GUPPIE owned and used by a Michigan couple in connection with children’s clothing, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has…
In a recent communication, the organisations that represent the main UK IP professions have jointly reached out to the UK Department for Exiting the European Union with a series of recommendations. Essentially, the purpose of the communication was to list concisely the key areas of IP-related concern for rights holders and those who practise in…
On imitation marketing and locally limited likelihood of confusion between the product get-up of “Mozartkugel” confectionery. The city of Salzburg is not only the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but also home to one of Austria’s most famous sweets, the „(Salzburger) Mozartkugeln”. The Austrian Supreme Court (“OGH”) recently decided in a conflict between two…
This case has gone through all instances in the Norwegian court system, with the Norwegian Supreme Court rendering its first decision on colour marks in December 2017. Overall, the courts find that neither purple, nor specific shades of purple, have protection as unregistered trade marks for inhalers for GlaxoSmithKline in Norway. In 1999 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)…
On 6th December 2017, the ECJ issued its judgement in the matter Coty / Akzente. The judgement is essentially about three questions: 1) Does the luxurious nature of products or trademarks justify a selective distribution system or did the Pierre Fabre judgement of 2011 put an end to that justification? 2) Does a selective distribution…
The Court of Florence last October 25, 2017 issued a decision prohibiting a travel agency to commercially use the image of Michelangelo’s David without the authorization of the “Galleria dell’Accademia”, (Galleria) the museum where the sculpture is located. The decision came after the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (the “Ministry”) under…
Caspian Pizza v Shah [2017] EWCA Civ 1874 When two pizza businesses (previously each party to a franchise agreement) recently went head to head over the right to use the name CASPIAN, the outcome was far from what the claimant had expected. Not only were the proceedings brought against the defendant for trade…
