3D Trademark, Case law, Figurative mark, Food, Germany, Lack of distinctiveness, Registrability, Shape marks

(b/cl IP)/ /Leave a comment

In cancellation proceedings the German Federal Patent Court denied registrability to a 3-D-mark depicting a chocolate stick for chocolate products largely based on evidence it had collected on its own motion (Decision of 22 April 2016 on Case 25 W(pat) 8/09). The International Registration (“IR”) depicted below was registered in December 2005 in Germany. In…

Case law, CJEU, Germany, Keyword advertising

(Lubberger Lehment)/ /1 Comment

Amazon’s internal search engine has already been the subject of a decision by the High Court (England and Wales) made just over two years ago (2014, EWHC 181, ch). The claimant was the proprietor of the LUSH trademark, used (inter alia) for bath additives. After the trademark was entered as the search term, Amazon exclusively…

Portugal

(CMS Rui Pena & Arnaut)/ /1 Comment

In a recent decision, the Portuguese Court of Intellectual Property confirmed a surprising interpretation of the exception for the revocation of a trademark on grounds of non-use – namely proper reasons for non-use. The Industrial Property Office had rejected a revocation request against the protection in the Portuguese territory of an international trademark assuming that…

Austria, Case law, EU Trademark reform, Infringement action

(schmid-ip)/ /Leave a comment

The Austrian Supreme Court (short “the Court”) denied a motion for a preliminary injunction (short “PI”) against the use of the mark “Duff (BEER)” based on the Claimant’s EUTM “Duff”, since the EUTM could be declared invalid on the basis of Defendant’s earlier German trademark rights (decision of 27.01.2016, 4 Ob 183/15p  – DUFF Beer)….

Case law, Portugal

(CMS Rui Pena & Arnaut)/ /Leave a comment

Due to the variety of economic agents operating on the Portuguese market, some judicial disputes frequently arise regarding the registration rights derived from trademarks and trade names legally constituted. When these situations occur there is a collision of registration rights. The Lisbon Court of Appeal has recently dealt with one case in which the holder…

Domain name, European Union

(Havlik Svorcik & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Slovak domain name registry administering .sk top level domain names SK-NIC published new Registration Rules and Dispute Resolution Rules effective as of 9 January 2017. The Registration Rules newly allow to hold a .sk domain name to any individual or legal entity having an address of service in any EU, EEA or EFTA Member State….

United States

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

Without proof that Hoop Culture would be irreparably injured in the absence of its requested preliminary injunction enjoining clothing retailer Gap from infringing Hoop Culture’s “EAT…SLEEP…BALL.®” trademark, Hoop Culture was not entitled to its requested relief, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta has decided (Hoop Culture, Inc. v. Gap Inc., April 28, 2016, per…

United States

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/ /Leave a comment

Prevailing defendants in a trademark dispute over the mark MEMORY LANE were not entitled to an award of attorney fees incurred in their successful defense, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has held. A district court properly concluded that the case was not “exceptional” for purposes of the Lanham Act’s fee-shifting provision (Memory…