Privacy - Google is not required to carry out worldwide de-referencing on all versions of its search engine – by a request or order for de-referencing: in a globalised world may access outside the Union likely have effects within the Union itself, numerous third States do not recognize the right to de-referencing, the...

The referring court asks, in essence, whether, when a farmer, in the period between the publication of the application for a plant variety right and the grant of that right, has purchased saplings of a protected variety from a breeder, the planting of those trees and the subsequent harvesting and selling of the fruits...

Case C-637/19. BY. Preliminary questions Svea Hovrätt – Sweden.

Copyright - Preliminary questions. "1. Does the term ‘public’ in Articles 3(1) and 4(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in...

Curia press release: “[…] As regards the analysis of the functionality of the essential characteristics of the mark at issue, the General Court considers, like EUIPO, that the essential characteristic consisting of the black lines which intersect, horizontally and vertically, on each of the faces of the cube, dividing...

Case C-371-18 Sky v Skykick. Opinion A-G Tanchev.

Trade Mark Law -  Sky is the registered proprietor of a number of EU trade marks “SKY”, among which two figurative marks. Sky contends that Skykick have infringed these EU trade marks. SkyKick denies infringement and issued a counterclaim for a declaration...

Litigation - Concept of “appropriate compensation” must be given an independent and uniform interpretation: when the terms of a provision of EU law  makes no express reference to the law of the Member States its meaning and scope must normally be given an independent and uniform interpretation throughout the European...

Trade Mark Law - A manufacturer of replacement parts and accessories for motor vehicles that affixes a sign identical to a trade mark registered for to its products without permission can not invoke the repair clause pursuant to article 14 Designs Directive and article 110 Community Designs Regulation: mentioned...

Trade Mark Law - In examining the distinctive character of a sign in respect of which registration as a trade mark is sought, all the relevant facts and circumstances must be taken into account, including all the likely types of use of the mark applied for. Uses which are conceivable but not practically significant and...

Trade Mark Law - Bad faith (article 52(1) under b) CTMR (former)): when one has the intention of undermining, in a manner inconsistent with honest practices, the interests of third parties, or with the intention of obtaining an exclusive right for purposes other than those falling within the functions of a trade mark...

Copyright - Case C-666/18: IT Development v Free Mobile. Conclusie A-G Sánchez-Bordona.

Copyright. The French cour d’appel de Paris asks whether a software licensee’s non-compliance with the terms of a software licence constitutes an infringement (for the purposes of Directive 2004/48 of 29 April 2004) or...

BOIP press release: "BOIP drastically improves searching figurative trademarks in its trademark register through a collaboration with Darts-ip.

This innovative tool uses artificial intelligence to enable anyone to simply upload an image and search the entire register for identical or similar trademarks. It will be...

EUIPO: "The next edition of DesignEuropa Awards will be held in Eindhoven on 20 October 2020.

Organised by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the DesignEuropa Awards have become a fixture on the international industrial design calendar.

Now in their third edition, the DesignEuropa Awards honour...

Privacy - The consent for the use of cookies is not validly constituted if the user must deselect a pre-checked checkbox to refuse his or her consent. The information that the service provider must give to a website user includes the duration of the operation of cookies and whether or not third parties may have access...

Copyright - Case C-597/19: M.I.C.M. v BVBA Telenet. Preliminary questions Ondernemingsrechtbank Antwerpen – Belgium.

Preliminary questions:

“1(a) Can the downloading of a file via a peer-to-peer network and the simultaneous provision for uploading of parts (‘pieces’) thereof (which may be very...

EUIPO press release: "Intellectual property rights strongly benefit the European economy, EPO-EUIPO study finds [...] 

Industries that make intensive use of intellectual property rights (IPRs) such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright generate 45% of GDP (EUR 6.6 trillion) in the EU annually...

IPR Enforcement Case-Law Collection - The liability and obligations of intermediary service providers in the European Union - Augustus 2019

"[...] This case-law collection provides an overview of the latest developments in this fast evolving area and of the main conclusions of selected cases including decisions...

Copyright - Design law - Copyright protection may not be granted to designs on the sole ground that, over and above their practical purpose, they produce a specific aesthetic effect: designs must constitute the expression of original works if they are to qualify for such protection.

Copyright - A German provision prohibiting internet search engines from using newspaper or magazine snippets without the publisher’s authorisation must be disregarded in the absence of its prior notification to the Commission: that provision constitutes a rule on information society services and, therefore, a...

NBC News: "Federal regulators on Wednesday rejected Ohio State University in its bid to trademark "the" in front of OSU's name, saying such protection just isn't necessary.

The school in Columbus has aggressively marketed itself with the three-letter word, with Buckeyes sports organizations insisting on being...

CNN: "Air New Zealand's attempts to trademark a logo of a common Māori greeting has sparked anger and threats of a boycott from the Māori community.

The Māori phrase "kia ora," which translates literally as "be well," is widely used across the country to mean "hello."

Air New Zealand said that it wanted to...