Use of key word infringing in case of adverse effect on the function of indicating origin. Use prohibited by article 5 will generally not be in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters. Exhaustion: Use of mark permitted unless there is a legitimate reason.

Patent protection DNA-sequence limited to circumstances in which it performs the patented function: not conferring patent right protection in circumstances such as those of the case in the main proceedings, in which the patented product is contained in the soy meal, where it does not perform the function for which it...

Assesment of conceptual similarity: the General Court erred in law in basing its assessment of the conceptual similarity of the marks on general considerations taken from the case-law without analysing all the relevant factors specific to the case, in disregard of the requirement of an overall assessment of the...

Design law: Made available to the public at trade fair and in specialised press: Informed user - no technical expert: With regard to the interpretation of the concept of informed user, the status of ‘user’ implies that the person concerned uses the product in which the design is incorporated, in accordance with the...

Trademark law: Inherently distinctive character unsubstantiated: there is nothing to suggest that any commercial success of the applicant would have been due to the fact that the orange colouring of the toes of the socks which it manufactures would have been perceived by the relevant public as being inherently...

Exclusive license limiting freedom to provide services – for national court to determine. Blocking access to internet site for Dutch residents is an indispensible element. ational court not required to determine compatability of implementing measure in each case. Prohibition on legitimate foreign operator from offering...

Prohibition on legitimate foreign operator from offering games of chance via the internet: therefore, the answer to the first question is that Article 49 EC must be interpreted as not precluding legislation of a Member State, such as the legislation at issue in the main proceedings, under which exclusive rights to...

Consent – exhaustion – not likely in case of perfume testers with a prohibition on sale: In circumstances such as those of the main proceedings, where ‘perfume testers’ are made available, without transfer of ownership and with a prohibition on sale, to intermediaries who are contractually bound to the trade mark...

Bad faith EU-domain name registration: must be interpreted as meaning that bad faith can be established by circumstances other than those listed in Article 21(3)(a) to (e) of that regulation.That, in order to assess whether there is conduct in bad faith within the meaning of Article 21(1)(b) of Regulation No 874/2004...

G 4/88. Transferability of pending opposition proceedings: An opposition pending before the European Patent Office may be transferred or assigned to a third party as part of the opponent's business assets together with the assets in the interests of which the opposition was filed.

Right of withdrawal: consumer may not be charged with the cost of delivering the goods: Article 6(1) and Article 6(2) of Directive 97/7/EC must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which allows the supplier under a distance contract to charge the costs of delivering the goods to the consumer where the...

Permissible restriction of the transfer on succession of the resale right to the artist's heirs: Article 6(1) of Directive 2001/84 must be interpreted as not precluding a provision of national law which reserves the benefit of the resale right to the artist’s heirs at law alone, to the exclusion of testa-mentary...

A species is composed of its different varieties: The very nature of a ‘species’ is that it is composed of its different varieties and, for this reason, a detailed description of such a species cannot be detached from the varieties which it comprises. Limited review to determine variety lacking distinctness.

Reach-through claim, also directed to future inventions: Patent protection limited to actual disclosed contribution to the art. Insufficient disclosure: In the absence of any selection rule in the application in suit, the skilled person, without the possibility of having recourse to his common general knowledge, must...

Use of trade marks as keywords in search engine advertising service: That the proprietor of a trade mark is entitled to prohibit an advertiser from advertising, on the basis of a keyword identical with that trade mark which that advertiser has. No use of the sign by internet referecing service provider. Internet...

Communication to the public: The hotelier, by installing televisions in his hotel rooms and by connecting them to the central antenna of the hotel, thereby, and without more, carries out an act of communication to the public within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of...

Rules requiring a 'joueur espoir' are a restriction on freedom of movement for workers: Rules according to which a ‘joueur espoir’, at the end of his training period, is required, under pain of being sued for damages, to sign a professional contract with the club which trained him are likely to discourage that player...