Competition Law - Pharmaceutical Law - National competition authorities are allowed to consider medicinal products of which the MA lays outside the treatment of the diseases at issue, but can be used for this and therefore can be regarded as substitutable with other medicinal products as products in the same market. It...

Privacy - Private International Law - A private Facebook account user is a consumer within the meaning of Article 15 of Brussels I Regulation, even when his activities entail publishing books, lecturing, operating websites, fundraising and being assigned the claims of numerous consumers for the purpose of their...

World Intellectual Property Review: "Hard Candy Cosmetics has withdrawn its trademark application for ‘#metoo’ following widespread public criticism.The US beauty brand, which sells make-up products through Walmart, abandoned its application to the US Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, January 18.

Trade mark law - Appeal against judgment of the General Court regarding genuine use of the wordmark NN dismissed by reasoned order: grounds of appeal are either manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded.

Decision by reasoned order to dismiss the appeal against the decision of the General Court of June...

The Verge: “KodakCoins will work as tokens inside the new blockchain-powered KodakOne rights management platform. The platform will supposedly create a digital ledger of rights ownership that photographers can use to register and license new and old work. Both the platform and cryptocurrency are supposed to “empower...

The Guardian: “Radiohead have refuted Lana Del Rey’s claim that they have filed a lawsuit against her that demands publishing rights to her song Get Free, thanks to its similarity to their song Creep."

From the press release: "Benoît Strowel, a member of Hoyng Monegier’s and HOYNG ROKH MONEGIER’s executive committee since 2011, will succeed Willem Hoyng as managing partner. The other members of the executive committee are Bart van den Broek, Christine Kanz, Carl De Meyer and Luis Fernández-Novoa.

Willem will...

Patent law - SPC. Date of the first MA, as stated in an application for the SPC, on the basis of which the duration of the certificate is calculated, is incorrect when the incorrect date led to a method for calculating the durating of the certificate which does not comply with the requirements of Article 13(1) of SPC...

Protected Designation of Origin - The use of a Protected designation of origin (PDO) as part of the name under which is sold a foodstuff that does not correspond to the product specifications for that PDO but contains an ingredient which does correspond to those specifications – like “Champagner Sorbet” containing 12%...

Design law - Scope of repair clause in article 110(1) Community Design Regulation is not limited to component parts forming part of a complex product upon whose appearance the protected design is dependent. Repair clause applies only to component parts of a complex product that are visually identical to original parts...

Trade mark law - The proprietor of a national trade mark from cannot oppose to the import of identical goods bearing the same mark originating in another Member State in which that mark, which initially belonged to that proprietor, is now owned by a third party which has acquired the rights thereto by assignment has...

Case C-629/17. Request for a preliminary ruling. Supremo Tribunal de Justiça (Portugal).

Trade Mark Law. Unofficial translation and summary: "The question which must be answered in the present case is whether the term ADEGA DE BORBA, which is composed of a protected designation of origin for Borba wine...

Case C-622/17 Baltic Media Alliance. Request for a preliminary ruling. Vilniaus apygardos administracinis teismas (Lithuania).

Unofficial translation and summary: "Applicant (Baltic Media Alliance Ltd) is a broadcasting organization operating the television channel NTV Mir Lithuania and possesses a permit from...

From the press release "The interplay between patents and standards is important for innovation and growth. Standards ensure that interoperable and safe technologies are widely disseminated among companies and consumers. Patents provide R&D with incentives and enable innovative companies to receive an adequate return...

Trade mark law - Case C-478/16 P. EUIPO v Group OOD. Opinion AG Campos Sánchez-Bordana. Appeal against the decision of the EU General Court of 29 June 2016. Group OOD opposed the application for an EU trade mark (see left) on the basis of a corresponding non-registered trade mark with only national significance, which...

Patent law - Article 3 (b) of the SPC Regulation is to be interpreted as meaning that an end-of-procedure notice drawn up before the expiry of the basic patent can not be equated with an marketing authorisation and, on the basis of an end of procedure message, no SPC can be obtained. The fact that no marketing...

Geographical indications - Case C-614/17 Fundación Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Protegida Queso Manchego. Preliminary ruling. Tribunal Supremo (Spain). 

Taken from the summary at minbuza.nl: "The applicant (Fundación Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Protegida Queso Manchego) has...

Competition - A selective distribution system for luxury goods designed, primarily, to preserve the luxury image of those goods complies with article 101(1) TFEU to the extent that resellers are chosen on the basis of objective criteria of a qualitative nature that are laid down uniformly for all potential resellers...

From the press release: “The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have delivered on commitments made during September's Digital Summit in Tallinn by ending unjustified geoblocking, one of the EU priority files for 2017.

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a political...

Trade Mark Law - Case C-418/16: mobile.de v EUIPO. Opinion AG Sharpston. In this appeal, mobile.de challenges the judgment of the General Court of 12 May 2016 in which mobile.de contested two decisions of the First Board of Appeal of the EUIPO. The General Court rejected mobile.de's case in its entirety. Mobile.de now...