The Swedish Supreme Court has requested a preliminary ruling from the CJEU in respect of an infringement case involving a CTM in Sweden. The case involves the Swedish insurance company Länsförsäkringar AB (“LF”) who claimed that the Estonian construction company Matek A/S (“Matek”) infringed LF’s CTM through its use of a similar trademark . The CTM…
In two judgments rendered on 14 January 2016, the General Court confirmed OHIM’s refusal of stylized marks whose verbal elements were descriptive or non-distinctive. It is a coincidence that both decisions are only available in Spanish and French and both marks were in classes 9, 28, and 41. The cases are T-318/15 and T-663/14 and…
This article looks at whether advertisers and referencing service providers, such as Google or Bing, involved in keyword advertising can be held liable in Spain on grounds of trademark infringement on the basis of case-law from the past three years. In short, referencing services in general will not be liable, while advertisers, essentially, have to…
Florida businessman Steven S. West was liable for over $913,000 in damages for infringing a service mark held by Omaha-based construction and mining company Kiewit Sons’, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis has decided (Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc. v. Wall Street Equity Group, Inc., January 6, 2016, Kelly, J.). A federal district…
The Board of Directors of Sapphire Bay Condominiums West was unable to state Lanham Act claims against a disgruntled condominium owner who operated a website to complaint about the Board, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia (The Board of Directors of Sapphire Bay Condominiums West v. Simpson, December 21, 2015, McKee, T.)….
The IP offices of the European Trade Mark and Design Network, including the Danish Patent and Trademark Office have agreed on a Common Practice in relation to when a figurative mark, containing purely descriptive/non-distinctive words, passes the absolute grounds examination because the figurative element renders sufficient distinctive character. In Denmark this new practice will be…
An individual was in violation of a permanent injunction barring him from using BMW’s “MINI” trademarks in connection with an online store selling apparel bearing the brand name “Mini Works,” the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has held. The court also affirmed an order amending the injunction to require the individual to transfer…
Once again, the General Court has found a three-dimensional mark consisting of a product shape not sufficiently distinctive for registration. This time, the shape in question was that of a vehicle, and it was held non-distinctive in relation to automobiles and related goods. Background of the case Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. had applied for the…
For those who have been wondering ever since the PAGO International ruling (C-301/07) if the owner of a CTM with a (proven) reputation in one or a few member states can also enforce it as a „mark with a reputation“ in other member states, the CJEU has now provided clarification in its judgment of 3 September…
The world of trademarks is one of the most fascinating legal areas there is. At least that is what trademark practitioners the world around agree upon. This blog is exactly intended for that group of people, so we can wholeheartedly say that this blog deals with the most fascinating legal topic there is. We are…
