General Court confirms the cancellation of Rubik’s Cube’s three-dimensional EU trade mark
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, …
moreA-G CJEU: trade mark may not be declared invalid on the sole ground that the specification of goods and services lack sufficient clarity and precision
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 …
moreCJEU about the concept of “appropriate compensation” in the Enforcement Directive after unjustified interim measures
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 …
moreDesign-law repair clause does not provide for a deviation from provisions of the Trademark Directive and the Community Trademark Regulation
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 …
moreCJEU on examination of distinctive character of a mark applied for, which has not yet been used
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 …
moreCJEU about bad faith
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, …
moreA-G CJEU on which procedure is applicable to non-compliance with the terms of a software licence
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 …
moreBOIP and Darts-ip delevop tool to improve searching figurative trademarks
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 …
moreEindhoven will host the DesignEuropa Awards on 20 October 2020
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 …
morePre-checked checkbox does not validly constitute consent for the use of cookies
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 …
morePreliminary questions about whether downloading and simultaneously uploading a torrent is a communication to the public
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 …
moreEPO-EUIPO study: Intellectual property rights strongly benefit the European economy
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 …
moreThe liability and obligations of intermediary service providers in the European Union
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 …
moreNo copyright protection for designs that merely produce an aesthetic effect
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.
moreNational provision prohibiting Google from using press snippets is not applicable without prior notification to the Commission
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 …
moreThe Ohio State University's trademark registration of 'the' refused
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 …
moreThe Māori Council threatened Air New Zealand with boycott for attempting to trademark 'Kia Ora' logo
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 …
morePlace infringement online advertisements can also be the place where the target audience is located
Trade mark law - Private International Law - In the event of an alleged infringement through online advertising, the proprietor of a EU trade mark may bring an infringement action against a third party before the national trade mark court where the target audience of the infringing online advertisement is located.
moreA-G Szpunar: supply of e-books is not covered by the distribution right but by the right of communication to the public
Opinion of advocate-general Szpunar regarding NUV/Tom Kabinet (C‑263/18). The referring court has asked the Court four questions concerning whether the supply of e-books by downloading online for permanent use is covered by the right of distribution within the meaning of Article 4 of Directive 2001/29, whether …
moreCopyright Landscape could change because of battle between Mercedes-Benz and Street Artists
Hollywoodreporter.com: "A lawsuit involving a series of Detroit murals may define how much protection artists have if their work is in plain sight on the exterior of a building.
[...]
The luxury automaker in March sued four artists who saw a series of G Class truck Instagram ads that showed their work in the …
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