EU – Page 3 – IP Law Watch

The Louboutin red sole – opinion of the Advocate General (case c-163/16 – recap)

Nov 02 2017

On 22 June 2017, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar presented an opinion in case C-163/16 concerning a trademark registered for the benefit of the well-known fashion designer Christian Louboutin, in the form of the colour red applied to the sole of a shoe.

In 2010, Louboutin obtained a registration of a Benelux trademark submitted for goods from class 25. This covered shoes (except for orthopaedic shoes), while in 2013, the registration was restricted to high-heeled shoes.

International protection of trademarks in connection with brand expansion

Oct 25 2017

Local entrepreneurs are more and more often taking actions aimed at protecting their trademarks abroad.

The presence of products bearing local trademarks in foreign markets is becoming more and more common. The shaping of an international nature and increased recognition of trademarks usually starts from the development of a distribution network through obtaining new sales markets and concluding commercial contracts with foreign entities. While planning activity in other territories, it is advisable to ensure trademark protection in the selected jurisdictions. Trademark protection is based on the rule of territoriality. A global brand usually emerges when their trademarks are protected in a majority of countries worldwide. An applicant has three types of applications available:
i) domestic (before local trademark office),
ii) international (through the Madrid system) or
iii) regional (i.e., covering the entire European Union).

Significant changes ahead for Australian patents

Sep 07 2017

The Australian Government has proposed significant changes to Australian patent law following an inquiry into the IP system recently completed by its advisory body, the Productivity Commission. These include:

Amending the inventive step threshold to reflect that of the European Patent Office
Phasing out innovation patents
Requiring applicants to identify an invention’s technical features in their claims, and
Adding an objects clause to the Patents Act.

A favourable opinion for the owners of exclusive brands – Does selective distribution guarantee that the luxury image of a brand is maintained?

Aug 05 2017

On 26 July 2017, the advocate general of the EU Court of Justice issued a very interesting opinion of benefit to the owners of exclusive brands. The dispute the opinion addresses has been going on for many years between the companies Coty German GmbH (“Coty”) – a leading supplier of luxury cosmetic products in Germany – and Parfümerie Akzente GmbH (“Parfümerie Akzente”) – an authorized distributor of those products. It concerns the possibility of a supplier prohibiting authorized entities involved in further selling in a selective distribution system from using unauthorized third companies.

The EU Court of Justice will have to consider whether, and within what scope, selective distribution systems for luxury and prestige items that primarily ensure the “luxury image” of those goods constitute an element of competition pursuant to Article 101 par. 1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

A dispute between renowned tire producers – Ruling of the EU Court of Justice in the case of the trademark “XKING”

Jul 30 2017

In a ruling of 26 July 2017 in case C-84/16 P, the Court of Justice upheld a ruling by the EU General Court invalidating a decision of the EUIPO Fourth Board of Appeal dismissing an opposition to the registration of the word-figurative trademark “XKING”.

That ruling benefits the company Compagnie générale des établissments Michelin (“Michelin”) – the entity that submitted the opposition to the registration in a proceeding before the EUIPO and is against the company Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH (“Continental”), a market competitor of Michelin and the entity that applied for the registration of the contested mark.

Distinctiveness of a mark (packaging of Knoppers waffles) – ruling of the EU Court of Justice

May 04 2017

We reported previously, in Bulletin No. 2 /2016 (page 15), on a case of the registration of the graphic trademark (shown below, packaging for Knoppers waffles, without any additional markings, with protection only for the two-colored background) for goods from class 30 of the Nice Classification, namely confectionery products, chocolates, chocolate products, cakes, ice creams, and ingredients for manufacturing such products.

The Laguiole trademark saga: Victory can be a double-edged knife

Apr 05 2017

The European Union Court of Justice confirmed the intellectual property rights owned by the French company “Forge de Laguiole”, but solely in areas in which it pursued an actual business activity.

A decision [1] dated 5 April 2017 of the European Union Court of Justice (EUCJ) put an end to the longstanding series of court decisions about the Laguiole trademark before the European Union jurisdictions (EU Jurisdictions), on which relied the right for French company “Forge de Laguiole” to keep using its business name. This decision also gave the EUCJ the opportunity to clarify the application of national case law by the EU Jurisdictions within the framework of proceedings based on Article 8 (4) of Regulation No 207/2009 (the “Regulation”) [2].

Tag:EU