Member States are required to recognize a body collectively representing trade mark proprietors if national law allows that body to bring legal proceedings
Litigation - Collective rights management - Member States are required under article 4(c) of the EU Enforcement Directive to recognize a body collectively representing trade mark proprietors as a person entitled to seek, in its own name, the application of the remedies laid down in the EU Enforcement Directive and to …
morePosting a presentation written by one of the school's pupils on the school website, which included a photograph that is freely accessible on the internet can be considered as an act of communication to a new public
Copyright - Posting a photograph that was published on another website, made with the same technical means, without any restrictive measures and with consent of the copyright holder falls under the concept “communication to the public”: There is an “act of communication” when such posting gives visitors to …
moreCJEU on criteria for products that are "protected by a basic patent in force” in the SPC Regulation for Medicinal Products
Patent Law - A product composed of several active ingredients with a combined effect is ‘protected by a basic patent in force’ within the meaning of Article 3(a) of the SPC Regulation for Medicinal Products where, even if the combination of active ingredients of which that product is composed is not expressly …
moreTrade mark propietor is entitled to oppose to debranding
Trade Mark Law - Trade mark proprietor is entitled to oppose, on the grounds of Article 5 of the Trade Marks Directive (2008) and Article 9 of the EU Trade Mark Regulation, a third party removing all the signs identical to that mark and affixing other signs, without its consent, on products placed in the customs …
moreIViR: "Number of Internet pirates in Europe decreases, legal media consumption rising"
From the press release: "The percentage of Internet users in Europe that occasionally downloads or streams music, films, series, books or games illegally, e.g. via The Pirate Bay or PopcornTime, has decreased between 2014 and 2017. This decrease is strongest for music, films and series. Meanwhile, expenditure on …
moreEvidence submitted by KitKat must be capable of establishing acquired distinctive character throughout all Member States
Court of Justice of the European Union Press Release: "[...] The Court concludes that, although it is not necessary, for the purposes of registering a mark that was formerly devoid of distinctive character, that evidence of the acquisition by that mark of distinctive character through use be submitted in respect of …
moreA-G CJEU: taste does not constitute a work
Case C-310/17: Levola v Smilde. Opinion A-G Wathelet.
The court of appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden (Dutch court) has referred two questions to the Court of Justice for preliminary ruling about the possibility to copyright the taste of a food product. A-G Wathelet considers that in view of the current state of the …
moreThe General Court was right to consider that EUIPO failed its obligation to state reasons by failing to refer to earlier judgements about PUMA's recognition
Trade Mark Law - The General Court was right to consider that EUIPO’s bodies could not satisfy their obligation to state reasons: Puma had raised the argument that the reputation of the earlier marks had been recognised ‘in numerous Office decisions’, the fact remains that the Board of Appeal failed to cite …
moreAdding additional label to parallel imported medical device does not constitute a trade mark infringement
Trade Mark Law - Trade mark proprietor cannot oppose parallel import of a medical device in authentic inside- and outside packaging which, by its content, function, size, presentation and placement, does not give rise to a risk to the guarantee of origin of the medical device bearing the mark. Conditions from …
moreRepresentation of a design for which registration is sought requires to clearly identify that design
Design Law - Article 36(1)(c) of the Community Designs Regulation requires the representation of a design for which registration is sought to clearly identify that design
moreBoard of Appeal may take account of additional evidence of use which is submitted after the time period set by the Board
Trade Mark Law - General Court has rightly found that the Board of Appeal is entitled to take account of additional evidence of use which is submitted after the time period set by the Board: addition to the evidence adduced within the time period set by EUIPO under Rule 40(6) of the Implementing Regulation which is …
moreApple and Samsung settle patent infringement lawsuit in United States
CNN: "The two companies agreed to a settlement in the case, according to court documents filed Wednesday, but did not disclose the terms.
The settlement closes a dispute that started in 2011 when Apple accused Samsung (SSNLF) of "slavishly" copying the iPhone's design and software features. A jury awarded Apple …
moreECHR: Russia held to pay €12.500 in non-pecuniary damages for infringement of the right to freedom of expression of Russian journalist
Publication - The European Court of Human Rights held that Russia violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the case brought before the Court by Russian journalist Boris Vladimirovisch Stomakhin.
Stomakhin was the editor, publisher and distributor of a monthly newsletter between 2000 en …
moreSPC-holder authorised by Specific Mechanisms to oppose to parallel imports from new Member States where it was impossible to apply for an equivalent patent at the time of application
Patent Law - SPCs - Holder of an SPC issued in another Member State than the new Member States is authorised by the Specific Mechanisms to oppose the parallel importation of a medicinal product where the legal systems of those States did not yet provide for such a possibility at the time when the application for a …
moreEuropean Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs approves uploadfilter
Press release: “The committee approved its position in a tight vote by 14 votes to 9, with 2 abstentions, and adopted by the same majority a decision to enter into negotiations with the Council, the other arm of the legislator.
Creators and news publishers must adapt to the new world of the internet as it …
moreCJEU: Louboutin's red sole is a valid trade mark
(Courtesy of Jesse Hofhuis, Hofhuis Alkema Groen and Thierry van Innis, Van Innis & Delarue) Trade mark law - Article 3 (1) (e) (iii) of Directive 2008/95 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks must be …
moreOpinion AG CJEU on applicability of strict assessment criteria for distinctive character of signs that coincide with the appearance of the goods
Trade Mark Law. Case C-26/17 P. Birkenstock v EUIPO. Appeal. Opinion AG Szpunar. Opinion on the partial refusal of the pictured figurative mark of Birkenstock. The opinion is limited to the first part of the appeal, discussing mostly the criteria for the application of the strict requirements that are used in the …
moreOpinion AG CJEU: No presumption of liability of holders of internet connection for copyright infringements
Copyright. IP enforcement. Case C-149/17: Bastei Lübbe v Strotzer. Opinion A-G Szpunar. Preliminary questions Landgericht München I – Germany.
Bastei Lübbe is a producer of phonograms and holder of the copyrights and neighbouring rights to the audio version of a book. This phonogram has been shared with an …
moreThe administrator of a fan page on Facebook is jointly responsible for the processing of data
Privacy - The administrator of a fan page hosted on Facebook is responsible for the personal data of the visitors to its fan page: the fact that an administrator uses the platform provided by Facebook cannot exempt it from compliance with its obligations concerning the protection of personal data. Where an undertaking …
moreAssociation with a registered geographical indication not sufficient to establish ‘indirect commercial use’ or ‘evocation’ of this indication
Protected designation of origin - For the purpose of establishing that there is ‘indirect commercial use’ of a registered geographical indication, the disputed element must be used in a form that is either identical to that indication or phonetically and/or visually similar to it: not sufficient that that …
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