Patent Law - Placement of product on the market: administrative authorisation issued for a medicinal product by the Swiss authorities, which is automatically recognized in Liechtenstein, must be regarded as first authorisation to place that product on the market when that authorisation predates marketing authorisations...

Patent Law - A patent which protects several different products can obtain several SPC’s

Trade Mark Law - Term ‘earlier national trade mark: refers to all marks that have effect in a Member State, irrespective of the national or international registration.

Patent Law - SPC possible on condition that active ingredient is covered by a functional formula that is identified in the claims of the patent.

Patent Law - SPC: no new SPC possible in case the holder of a patent each time he places a medicinal product on the market containing a (1) principle active ingredient, protected by the basic patent and (2) another active ingredient which is not protected by the patent.

Patent Law - Adjuvants: adjuvant does not fall within the definition of ‘active ingredient’ within the meaning of the provision, and adjuvant which has no therapeutic effect on its own does not fall within the definition of ‘combination of active ingredients’

Trade Mark Law - Risk of dilution reputed trade mark requires evidence of a change in economic behaviour: proof that the use of the later mark is, or would be, detrimental to the distinctive character of the earlier mark requires evidence of a change in the economic behaviour of the average consumer of the goods or...

Unfair Commercial Practices - A commercial practice is misleading where that practice contains false information, or is likely to deceive the average consumer, and is likely to cause the consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not take otherwise. A transactional decision is any decision directly related...

Trade Mark Law - General reasoning ground: general reasoning ground for refusal mark insufficient in respect of non-homogeneous groups of goods or services within the same class.

Patent Law - SPC: Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation No 1610/96 must be interpreted as precluding the issue of a supplementary protection certificate for a plant protection product in respect of which an emergency MA has been issued under Article 8(4) of Directive 91/414.

Trade Mark Law - Litigation - Evidence submitted after expiry of period specified: the submission of evidence after the expiry of the period specified for that purpose by OHIM, in order to establish the existence, validity and scope of protection of the earlier mark, entails the rejection of the opposition, and the...

Copyright - Private International Law - Jurisdiction: court of the location where the damage as a result of copyright infringement has taken place only has jurisdiction to determine the damage caused in the state which it is situated.

Unfair Commercial Practices - Terms of provision: terms of a provision of EU law which makes no express reference to the law of the Member States must be given an autonomous and uniform interpretation throughout the European Union, taking into account the context of the provision and the purpose of the legislation in...

Trade Mark Law - Litigation -  the General Court may not judge evidence which have not been examined by the Board of Appeal

Unfair Commercial Practices - if a practice can be categorized as a misleading practice, it is not necessary to determine whether this practice is also contrary to the requirements of professional diligence.

Trade Mark Law - Exclusive rights: - the national court may not limit exclusive right in a manner which exceeds limitations arising from Articles 5 to 7. - upon lapse of trade mark proprietor’s consent to shared use with a third party, proprietor should be able to assert the exclusive right conferred upon it by those...

Trade Mark Law - Genuine use of registered trade mark: used only in conjunction with a word mark which is superimposed over it is possible, to the extent that the differences between used and registered do not change the distinctive character. Association of the public: fact that significant portion of public...

Advertising Law - Health can also be disease risk claim without claim that risk factor is ‘significantly’ reduced: a health claim need not necessarily expressly state that the consumption of a category of food, a food or one of its constituents ‘significantly’ reduces a risk factor in the development of a human disease...

Media Law - Advertising limits: shorter hourly television advertising limits for pay-TV broadcasters permitted with due consideration of principle of proportionality.

Trade Mark Law - Litigation - Submission of additional proof of use of mark permissible through use of discretion conferred upon OHIM: OHIM is in no way prohibited from taking account of evidence submitted out of time through use of the discretion conferred on it.