Author’s consent not required when using work for the purposes of reporting current events
Copyright - Copyright directive does not fully harmonise the exceptions or limitations. European fundamental rights are not capable of justifying exceptions or limitations not provided for in the directive. In striking the balance between the rights of the author and the rights which derogate from the …
morePreliminary questions about distinctive character
Case C-456/19: Aktiebolaget Östgötatrafiken. Prejudiciële Svea Hovrätt - Sweden.
Trade Mark Law. Preliminary reference on the interpretation of Article 4(1)(b) of Directive 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015
Preliminary questions:
1. Must Article 4(1)(b) of the …
moreCJEU on protection of a trade mark consisting of a quality label
Trade Mark Law - Proprietor of a ‘quality label’ trade mark (for consumer information and –advice) is not entitled by Article 9(1)(a) and (b) (former) CTMR and Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 2008/95 to oppose the affixing, by a third party, of a sign identical with, or similar to, that mark to products …
moreMarvel's Iron Man 3 poster does not infringe copyrights Horizon Comics
Thewrap.com: "Marvel Entertainment won a copyright infringement lawsuit on Monday that had claimed the company copied the design of their movie poster for “Iron Man 3” from another comic. Horizon Comics Productions sued Marvel in April 2016 saying the image of Robert Downey Jr. kneeling in his Iron Man suit was …
moreComplaints directed against grounds of the judgment under appeal purely for the sake of completeness cannot in any event lead to the judgement’s being set aside
Trade Mark Law - Name in normal script of figurative mark in the European Union Trade Marks Bulletin irrelevant for the purpose of determining the phonetic perception of the signs which should not be confused with their name in the Bulletin. Complaints directed against grounds of the judgment under appeal purely for …
moreDijkman, commentary on HP/Digital Revolution (Dutch Supreme Court), 19 April 2019
L.E. Dijkman, European University Institute, commentary on HP/Digital Revolution 19 April 2019 (Dutch Supreme Court, HP/Digital Revolution); published in Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, July 2019.
"In its ruling in HP/Digital Revolution, the Dutch Supreme Court held that the sale of a …
moreSamsung sued for misleading advertisements about waterproof phones
"The ACCC has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Samsung Electronics Australia Pty Ltd (Samsung) alleging it made false, misleading and deceptive representations in advertising the water resistance of various ‘Galaxy’ branded mobile phones. Phones subject to the ACCC’s case are the S10e, S10, …
morePreliminary question about communication to the public
Case C-392/19: VG Bild-Kunst v Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Copyright. Preliminary reference on the interpretation of Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC
Preliminary question:
"Does the embedding of a work — which is available on a freely accessible website with the consent of the right holder — …
moreJudge rules that Andy Warhol did not infringe Prince picture copyright
ABC News: "Andy Warhol transcended a photographer's copyright by transforming a picture of a vulnerable and uncomfortable Prince into an artwork that made the singer an "iconic, larger-than-life figure," a judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan sided with the Andy Warhol Foundation …
moreElement of a trade mark cannot be excluded by a disclaimer from global analysis of likelihood of confusion
Trade mark law - Member States are free to provide for waivers of rights under national law in so far as they do not impair the effectiveness of the Trade Mark Directive and, in particular the protection against trade marks that are liable to create a likelihood of confusion. Article 4(1)(b) Trade mark Directive 2008 …
moreAG: EUIPO’s decision rejecting the registration of the trade mark ‘Fack Ju Göhte’ should be annulled
Court of Justice of the European Union Press Release: “The Advocate General observes that freedom of expression clearly applies in the field of trade marks, even though its protection is not the primary goal of trade marks, the aim of which is essentially to guarantee to consumers the origin of the goods or …
morePreliminary questions on the abuse of a dominant position by a copyright management for remuneration model to calculate licence fees
Case C-372/19: Sabam v BVBA Weareone.World and NV Wecandance
Copyright. "Preliminary questions on the abuse of a dominant position by a copyright management for remuneration model to calculate licence fees"
Preliminary questions:
"Must Article 102 TFEU, whether or not read in conjunction with Article 16 of …
moreU.S. Trademark Office denies Cardi B's application to trademark catchphrase "Okurr"
Forbes.com: "The United States Patent and Trademark Office has denied Rapper Cardi B’s application to trademark her catchphrase, “Okurr” because it’s too “commonplace.” Ouch. Just kidding. That’s actually just normal trademark denial language. A trademark is intended to indicate the source of goods or …
more'FUCT' trademark ruling Supreme Court smoothes the path for Thunderpussy trademark
Forbes.com: "Nearly a year ago, I wrote that it was time for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to grant the requested trademark for the all-female rock band, Thunderpussy. Well, now it's really, really time as the Supreme Court has struck down the federal law that prohibited the registration of “immoral …
moreRequest for a preliminary ruling concerning the three-dimensional trade mark
Case C-237/19. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Kúria (Hungary)
minbuza.nl (unofficial translation from Dutch): "Gömböc has applied for registration of three-dimensional sign as a trade mark for decorative objects (umbrella and decorative objects made of glass and ceramics) and toys in Hungary at the …
moreCommunity Design for fluid distribution equipment declared invalid
Design Law - Proceedings regarding the Registered Community Design for ‘fluid distribution equipment’. (Courtesy of Gert-Jan van den Bergh en Auke van Hoek, Bergh Stoop & Sanders en Berber Brouwer, Brouwer & Law)
morePreliminary question about supplementary protection certificate
Case C-354/19: Novartis AG v Patent-och registreringsverket
Patent law - Request for preliminary ruling, on the interpretation of Article 3(c) of Regulation No 469/2009 and Article 3(2) of Regulation No 1610/96.
"1. Is the obligation on a national court to interpret the Directive 2006/115 on rental right …
morePreliminary questions about the interpretation of the Rental Directive
Case C-265/19: Recorded Artists Actors Performers Limited v Phonographic Performance (Ireland) Limited
Copyright - "Preliminary reference on the interpretation of Directive 2006/115/EC"
Preliminary questions:
"1. Is the obligation on a national court to interpret the Directive 2006/115 on rental right …
moreCopyright dispute between Google and Genius about lyric scraping
Wired.com: "Over the weekend, the music annotation site Genius publicly accused search juggernaut Google of stealing its crowdsourced song transcripts and natively publishing them on its search pages in knowledge panels Google calls its “One Box.” Doing so, Genius alleges, hurts Genius’ bottom line by diverting …
moreGeneral Court EU confirms invalidity of the adidas EU trade mark which consists of three parallel stripes applied in any direction
Trade mark law - General Court EU Press Release: “[…] In today’s judgment, the General Court upholds the annulment decision, dismissing the action brought by adidas against the EUIPO decision. The General Court notes, first of all, that the mark is not a pattern mark composed of a series of regularly repetitive …
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