Trade Mark Law - General Court has incorrectly ruled in opposition proceedings that ‘F1’ element in national trademark is generic, descriptive and devoid of any distinctive character. Validity of national trade marks not to be questioned during opposition proceedings Community trade mark. Distinctive character national...

Trade Mark Law - Ruling on proper grounds that sign consisting of shape of a rabbit with red ribbon is devoid of any distinctive character. Registrations already made in Member States may be taken into account, but OHIM under no obligation to follow national assessments in relation to Community trade mark

Copyright - Copyright Directive makes aspects of Berne Convention part of European Union law. The expression “by means of their own facilities” must be interpreted within the framework of European Union law. By means of their own facilities also includes third parties acting on behalf of or under the responsibility of...

Copyright - Functionality of computer program, programming language, and format of data files not a form of expression of that program; not protected by copyright. Licensee allowed to use and to analyse he program to determine the ideas and principles of program. Reproduction in computer program or user manual of...

Copyright - Exhaustion of the distribution right with regard to a copy of a computer program that has been licensed for an unlimited period in return for payment of a fee. Second and subsequent acquirer of a copy of a computer program for which the distribution right is exhausted is a lawful acquirer of copy of...

Copyright - Originality: making free and creative choices and thus stamp personal touch. Copyright on database: selection or arrangement of the data which amounts to an original expression of the creative freedom of its author; not mere intellectual effort, labour an skill. Copyright on database:  Database Directive...

Trade Mark Law - Private International Law - Actions relating to trade mark infringement by use of Adwords may be brought before courts of Member States in which the trade mark is registered or of the place of establishment of the advertiser

Copyright - Internet service provider can be ordered to give personal information of alleged infringer to copyright holder

Copyright - Publication - Injunction against hosting service provider to install contested filtering system precluded: that Directives 2000/31, 2001/29 and 2004/48, read together and construed in the light of the re-quirements stemming from the protection of the applicable fundamental rights, must be interpreted as...

Copyright - Neighbouring Rights - Hotel operator (i) which provides televisions and/or radios is a user making a communication to the public of a phonogram which may be played in a broadcast and is obliged to pay equitable remuneration, and (ii) which provides other apparatus and phonograms which may be played on or...

Copyright - Neighbouring Rights - “Communication to the public” does not cover broadcasting, free of charge, of phonograms within private dental practices, enjoyed by patients without any active choice on their part. According to European law, individuals may not rely directly on TRIPS, WPPT and the Rome Convention...

Trade Mark Law - Combination of descriptive words and abbreviations is devoid of distinctive character

Publication - Privacy - Balancing interest in publishing the information about arrest for cocaine possesion against TV actor's right to respect for his private life; under the circumstances no need to preserve anonymity TV actor; no bad faith publisher. Content, form and consequences of the impugned articles do...

Trade Mark Law - Article 8(5): Reputation and distinctive character relevant factors for making a link between marks not for similarity, not for assessment of similarity. Also for assessing similarity with a word mark, degree of visual and conceptual similarity needs to be determined.  Existence of family or series of...

Acts of temporary reproduction allowed during data capture process. During  a data capture process, those acts must constitute an integral and essential part of a technological process, notwithstanding they initiate and terminate that process and involve human intervention

Nike ought to have been granted an opportunity to prove the transfer of the earlier right R10 on which it relied in order to show that it had locus standi

Rights to exploit a cinematographic work must by operation of law be vested in the principal director. Rebuttable presumption of transfer of rights to exploit the cinematographic work allowed. Principal director must be directly entitled to the right to fair compensation for private copying. Presumption of transfer of...

Design Law - Community design infringement: later registered Community design can infringe earlier Community design. Intention and conduct third party irrelevant for infringement.

Assignment of title: Stanford did not gain title to Holodniy’s inventions, while the VCA effected a present assignment of Holodniy’s future inventions to Cetus. Roche’s counterclaim for ownership is time-barred by statutes of limitation