In San Diego Comic Convention’s trademark infringement case against the operator of a Utah comic book convention involving the trademark COMIC-CON, two orders entered by the federal district court in San Diego— a suppression order prohibiting the Utah operator for commenting on the pending litigation over the Internet and on social media platforms and a…
The German Football Association (DFB) owns the international mark “Deutscher Fussball-Bund” (with device) with basic registration in Germany (see image below), claiming protection for a wide variety of merchandise. The registration was notified to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in April 2014. The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property refused to protect the…
The federal district court in Salt Lake City did not err in terminating Leland Sycamore’s rights under a trademark license agreement (TLA) that granted him the right to use the “Grandma Sycamore’s Home Maid Bread” and “Grandma Sycamore’s Home Maid Bread Design” trademarks (the Sycamore marks), or in the scope of a permanent injunction it…
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has denied the Tea Board’s (TB) appeal against the General Court’s (GC) decision to allow Delta Lingerie’s (DL) application for various ‘Darjeeling’ marks in classes 35 and 38. In 2010, DL applied to register four figurative EUTMs including the word ‘Darjeeling’ in classes 25, 35 and…
The CJEU judgment of 11 October 2017 in the CACTUS matter (C-501/15 P) surprised twofold: first, the CJ held that EUTMs from before July 2005 that covered all class headings in class 35 automatically covered “retail services for any goods”, and then, it considered the use of the cactus device alone as genuine use of…
On September 21, 2017, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued another important decision on designs (joined cases C-361/15 and C-405/15). Among several other issues, possibly the most relevant concerned whether or not the product and the sector to which a design relates affect the assessment of its novelty and individual character. The case concerned…
Earlier in September, a task force representing the European Union Commission released a position paper to the EU27, setting out their preliminary position on the continued protection of IP rights in the UK. It has been met with a mixed reception, but within it there are certainly positive indications for holders of unitary rights (such…
Last month the Dutch District Court of The Hague decided in case C/09/520643 / HA ZA that there is no likelihood of confusion between SINA rice and SITA rice. This is somewhat remarkable considering earlier decisions on similar comparisons between four letter signs in relation to foodstuffs. The reason for denying likelihood of confusion lies…
Combining trademarks with further elements or sub-brands is quite popular. A recent decision of the German Federal Supreme reminds once more what to watch out for if you do not want to lose your trademark rights (decision of 11 May 2017 in Case I ZB 6/16). The owner of the German word mark registration for…
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…
