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
In an order published today, the German Federal Constitutional Court decided that the Act of Approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (“UPC Agreement”) is void. In its reasoning, the Court held that the ratification of the UPC Agreement violated democratic principles as the Act of Approval was not passed by two thirds of the members of the German Parliament (Bundestag). Thus, the Bundestag did not effectively pass the Act of Approval.
Continue Reading German Federal Constitutional Court Decides that German Ratification of UPC Agreement is Void
On 27 February 2020, the UK government unofficially announced that the UK will not participate in the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court system. The decision was confirmed by a spokesperson for the prime minister, who stated that “Participating in a court that applies EU law and bound by the CJEU is inconsistent with
On 28 January 2020, the European Patent Office (EPO) published its reasons for two recent decisions refusing two European patent applications in which a machine named DABUS—”a type of connectionist artificial intelligence”—was designated as the inventor. The applicant had argued that the machine should be recognized as the inventor and that he, as the owner of the machine, was an assignee of any IP rights created by his machine.
Continue Reading EPO Publishes Grounds for Refusing AI-Invented Patent Applications
Responding to a written question put to the UK Parliament on 21 January 2020, Government Minister Chris Skidmore stated that the UK has no plans to implement the controversial new EU Copyright Directive following the UK’s exit from the European Union. Entering into force in June 2019, EU countries have been given until June 2021
Brexit is finally here. The United Kingdom leaves the European Union on 31 January 2020. The EU and the UK will now enter a transition period which is scheduled to last until 31 December 2020. During this time, the UK will continue to abide by the EU laws, be subject to the rulings of EU courts, and contribute to the EU budget. Hence, the status quo will essentially remain unchanged during the transition period. The aim of the transition period is to provide enough time for the final wave of negotiations between the UK and EU to
Continue Reading Brexit – What Does it Mean for Businesses from an IP, Tech and Privacy Perspective?
In addition to obvious examples of original art such as paintings, music and poetry, copyright protection can, inter alia, also extend to nonfictional literature such as technical reports and expert opinions. In several cases, the District Court and the Higher District Court of Cologne as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that even scientific expert opinions or military mission reports which merely reproduce facts or findings can be subject to copyright protection.
Continue Reading CJEU and German Courts Rule on the Copyrightability of Non-Fictional Literature
On 1 October 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on a number of questions which, inter alia, relate to the validity of consent to cookies “by way of a pre-checked checkbox” (Case C 673/17). Although the questions referred to the CJEU primarily related to provisions of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (2002/58/EG), the CJEU stated that the questions must be answered also in regard to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Continue Reading Court of Justice of the EU: A “Pre-Checked Checkbox” Is Not Valid Consent to Cookies under the GDPR
On 29 July 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on the copyright implications of sampling in music and established criteria as to when sampling falls within the scope of artistic freedom. Sampling is taking a portion of a sound recording and reusing it in a different song. The case was brought before the CJEU following a two-decades-long legal dispute between German electro-pop band Kraftwerk and German producer Moses Pelham.
Continue Reading Court of Justice of the EU Rules on Copyright Implications of Sampling in Music
In the world of intellectual property rights, there are cracks the law doesn’t reach—areas that do not sit squarely within copyright, patent, or trade secret law. Data is one of those areas. To protect their investments in data, businesses must mortar over the gaps. As part of our Technology Transactions Webinar Series, we will discuss the trowels for the job. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT.
Continue Reading Webinar Series: IP Rights for Data—Mortaring Over the Cracks