Europe – Page 15 – IP Law Watch

Big News for Manufacturers of Replica Furniture and Decorative Items

Mar 19 2015

Repeal of Section 52 of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

The arco lamp (Castiglioni brothers) and the butterfly chair (Lucian Ercolani, founder of Ercol) are two examples of iconic products, which, until a recently announced change in the law, would not have been able to receive the full duration of copyright protection in the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, as in many other countries, copyright protects an article for the creator’s life plus 70 years. However, there are exceptions, including Section 52 of the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 which limits protection to 25 years for industrially manufactured copies. Read More

How Much Attention Does the Average Consumer of Ice Cream pay to Packaging?

Feb 10 2015

Ruling of the European Union General Court

On 25 September 2014, the European Union General Court (EU General Court) handed down a ruling (case ref. T-474/12) in the case of an invalidation of the right to a three-dimensional Community trademark created by the form of two packaged ice cream cups.

Shape Trade Marks Which Solely Protect Function are not Registrable in Europe

Feb 05 2015

Ruling of the European Court of Justice

The companies Hauck and Stokke, known on the market for children’s accessories, were engaged in a dispute over high chairs. Hauck moved for the invalidation of a trademark registered by Stokke in the Benelux countries. The designation had the form of a high chair for children. The chair was traded on the market under the name Tripp-Trapp.

Continuation of the Dispute Between “SUPERGLUE” and “SUPER GLUE”: Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Jan 20 2015

A decision issued recently by the Court of Justice of the European Union (C-91/14 P) (Court of Justice) concluded another stage in a dispute between Przedsiębiorstwo Handlowe Medox Lepiarz Jarosław, Lepiarz Alicja sp.j. (PH Medox) and OHIM and Henkel Corp. (an intervening party). The dispute concerned the following graphic designation:

Flying Doughnuts – Future Reality?

Dec 09 2014

Airbus filed a suite of patent applications recently, one of which includes a futuristic looking new concept for a passenger aircraft.

Dubbed the ‘flying doughnut’, and looking like a craft one would expect to see only in a science fiction movie, the aircraft features a circular cabin accessed via a cavity in the middle, contained in the middle of a giant triangular wing.

The aircraft design allows for a wider passenger cabin than traditional passenger aircrafts, with the circular cabin making the most of the greater width. An important advantage of this new aircraft is that the circular cabin is better able to withstand pressurisation loads without compromising cabin space.

The Color Red Sparks a Dispute Between Banks

Dec 09 2014

The Secondary Distinctiveness of a Trademark: Ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union

If a ‘significant part’ (at least 70%) of the consumer group is able to recognize given goods as deriving from a specific company using the trademark, then the mark has certainly acquired distinctiveness, including in the case of ‘secondary distinctiveness as a result of use’.

The European Court of Justice held on 19 June 2014 in a ruling (C-217/13 and C-218/13) in the case of Oberbank AG, Banco Santander SA and Santander Consumer Bank AG vs. Deutsche Sparkassen und Giroverband e.V. (DSGV), the result of three pre-trial questions submitted to the Court of Justice by the German Federal Patent Office (Bundespatentgericht). The findings were as follows: Read More

Copyright Reform in the European Union: Big Changes Announced, but are They Possible?

Nov 27 2014

The new European Commission President, Jean Claude Junker, included in his October 22nd inaugural speech as his second priority an “impulse to Europe’s Digital Single Market”, which should include “modernising copyright rules in the light of the digital revolution and changed consumer behaviour”. Read More

UK Trade Mark Owners win Landmark Case Against ISPs

Nov 14 2014

ISPs Ordered to Block Websites Selling Counterfeit Products

In a landmark decision, a judge of the High Court of Justice, England and Wales has ruled that internet service providers (ISPs) in the United Kingdom may be ordered to take all reasonable steps to prevent or restrict access to websites selling counterfeit goods.

The case was brought by luxury brand owner Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (Richemont), which relevantly owns the Cartier and Montblanc brands and associated trade marks, against the five largest ISPs in the United Kingdom.

Is the Fit-out of Sales Premises a Trademark? Ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Oct 22 2014

In a recent case, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice) ruled that a simple drawing of sales premises for goods, without any indication of dimensions or proportions, can be registered as a trademark for services involving provisions related to those goods, but which do not constitute an integral part of admitting them to trade. One of the conditions making it possible to register such a depiction as a trademark is that the depiction makes it possible for the services concerned to be differentiated from those of other businesses. A second condition is that the registration does not meet any of the grounds for refusal of a registration specified in Directive 2008/95/EC. Read More

‘Like-Gating’? Facebook Says Dislike

Oct 09 2014

Facebook Changes to its ‘Platform Policy’ can Affect Your Page

Facebook has announced a change to its Policy Platform that may affect the majority of users.

The policy change advises that Facebook will no longer allow advertisers to incentivise people to use social plugins or to like a Facebook Page (Page). This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It is still acceptable to incentivise people to login to your app, check-in at a place, or enter a promotion on your app’s Page. Read More

Tag:Europe