On 2 April 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) delivered its judgment in Coty Germany v Amazon (Case C‑567/18), in which the CJEU considered whether Amazon was liable for trade mark infringement for storing goods that infringed EU trade marks.
Continue Reading The Court of Justice of the European Union Provides Some Clarification on Third Party Liability of Marketplaces in Trade Mark Infringement Disputes
On 18 March 2020, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (“DPMA”) has announced the extensions for all time limits granted by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office regarding all pending IP procedures. This extension shall be granted ex officio until 4 May 2020. Until then, no decision shall be made due to the expiration of any time limit.
Continue Reading German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) Extends Deadlines and Cancels Scheduled Hearings
The revised Trade Mark Law was enacted in 2014 to much fanfare, as it included important new provisions targeting bad faith applications by trade mark hijackers, a recurring problem that has plagued brand owners in China. Unfortunately, in the 5 years since the enactment, the new provisions have done little to reduce trade mark hijacking activity and the onus has remained with brand owners to oppose or invalidate hijacked marks.
Continue Reading New Measures to Target Bad Faith Trade Mark Applications in China
On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the prohibition against registering immoral or scandalous trademarks, holding that the ban against such trademarks violates the First Amendment by discriminating on the basis of viewpoint. In a 6-3 vote, the Justices, in an opinion written by Justice Kagan, explained their decision to invalidate the Lanham Act’s prohibitions on registrations that “[c]onsist of or comprise immoral … scandalous matter” (15 U.S.C. § 1052(a)), stating that “[t]he government may not discriminate against speech based on the ideas or opinions it conveys.”
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Immoral or Scandalous Trademark Registrations
On 12 June 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Christian Louboutin’s red sole trademark was valid (Case C-163/16). The decision comes after years of litigation between Louboutin and Dutch footwear company Van Haren over the scope and validity of Louboutin’s trademark.
Continue Reading Court of Justice of the EU: Louboutin’s Red Sole Trademark Is Valid
The 13th People’s National Congress (“NPC”) recently approved the State Council’s proposal to restructure China’s State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”). The proposal intends to consolidate the administration of trademarks and patents and to streamline the enforcement of IPR in China.
Continue Reading China Unveils Plan to Restructure State Intellectual Property Office
Back in 2015 Constantin Film AG, the production company of the German movie „Fack ju Göhte“, filed an European Union trademark application (“EUTM”) for its movie title „Fack ju Göhte“ with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”). The EUTM application was refused by the EUIPO based on an alleged infringement of public policy and common decency. On top of that, EUIPO was of the opinion that the title of the movie is an offensive insult that would damage the German highly respected writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe posthumously. Constantin Film’s appeal against this decision was also not successful, so that they now brought that case before the General Court of the European Union.
Continue Reading The General Court of the European Union Rules on the Immorality of the Movie Title „Fack ju Göhte“
Now that the time of the year has come, it seems like everything is all about finding the perfect gift, decorating your house in the most beautiful Christmas colors, baking Christmas cookies and of course, going to Christmas markets. But even while we are enjoying the peaceful and contemplative atmosphere – and obviously to drink one or the other mulled wines we are not spared from being confronted with the German trademark law. Insofar we would like to conclude this year with a decision of the German Patent Court which dates back to 2006, but which perfectly fits into the advent and Christmas season.
Continue Reading We Wish You a Happy Christmas! Enjoy your time at the Christkindlesmarkt!
Trade marks will not only be associated with the company they origin from, but might also be associated with certain quality or ethical standards. Certain associations are using their trade marks only to license it to producers who fulfill a certain standard. While some jurisdictions recognize such use of a trade mark as sufficient to maintain trademark protection, the European Union Trade Mark Regulation (EUTMR) does only mentioning the term “genuine use” of a trade mark. On 8 June 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has decided whether using a trade mark only to indicate certain quality or ethical standards can be seen as “genuine use”.
Continue Reading Court of Justice of The EU Ruled on the Use of Trade Marks as Indication of Quality
On 24 April 2017, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court (“ the Court”) published 18 classic cases concerning trademarks filed in bad faith. One of these cases dealt with a invalidation action filed by Tiffany and company (“Tiffany”), the luxury jeweler.
Tiffany prevailed in the invalidation action brought in 2013 against Chinese trademark registration no. 8009772 for “蒂 凡尼” (pronounced as “Di Fan Ni” in Mandarin) on wallpaper, carpets etc. in Class 27 in the name of Shanghai Zhendi Decoration Materials Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai Zhendi”). After the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (“TRAB”) rejected the registration, Shanghai Zhendi appealed to the Beijing IP Court.
Continue Reading Beijing IP Court Rules in Favour of Tiffany Against “Diffany”