The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given a preliminary ruling on questions relating to three-dimensional trademarks forwarded to it by the Dutch courts (Judgment dates 18 September 2014;…
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The German Federal Supreme Court decided that only Langenscheidt is allowed to use the color yellow for language training products in Germany (Judgment dated 18 September 2014; I ZR 228/12).
Background of the…
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that European libraries may digitize books and make them available at electronic reading points without first coming to an agreement with the holder of…
The Higher Regional Court Celle, Germany, decided that it is misleading to add six stars next to the door of a luxus hotel (13 U 76/14 dated 15 July 2014).
Background of the Case and Subject Matter
A hotel…
The traditional Oktoberfest will take place from the 20 September to 5 October 2014 in Munich, Germany. During this time, more than 6.7 million liters of beer are sold more than 6…
Background of the Caseand Subject Matter
The German consumer group “Stiftung Warentest” compared nut chocolate bars of different producers and published the results on their website and in their magazine in…
As and from 1 October 2014, the Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) will begin examining the classification of international registrations designated in the European Union (EU), for vague terms.…
The European Commission published its Annual Report 2013 on EU customs enforcement of intellectual property rights on 31 July 2014. The annual report contains statistical information about detentions made under…
On 7 August 2014 the Regional Court of Munich (I) decided that REAL is not allowed to use symbols that look similar to the club logo of the German Football Association (Case No: 11 HKO O 10510/14).
Introduction
…The world’s fifth largest national Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) contributes greatly to the protection of technical and industrial innovations in Germany. This protection is of upmost importance for…
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, in conjunction with the Cornell University and the international business…
The Registration of a Community Design offers the option of obtaining a design right that is in force throughout the whole European Union (EU). Outlined below please find some important basics you should know.
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The Power 100 is an annual research study produced by one of the world's leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy. The study monitors the power of the world's leading spirits and wine brands…
The European General Court (EGC) decided that the trademark “GLAMOUR” cannot be registered as Community Trademark because there is likelihood of confusion to the older trademark “TUDOR GLAMOUR” (Case T-1/13 dated…
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruld that the layout of an Apple Store in general may be eligible to be registered as a trademark (Case C-421/13 dated 10 July 2014).
Background of the…
For IPR, both an increase of the reporting countries and cases was observed (22,543 cases in 2012 and 24,092 cases in 2013). In 2013 one of the striking features was that more than half of the reported…
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) published the Global Challenges Report on June 11, 2014. The study deals with the climate change as one of the biggest global challenges of our time. Therefore,…
The European General Court (EGC) decided that “JUNGBORN” cannot be registered because there is likelihood of confusion to the older German trademark “BORN” (Case T-401/12, July 11, 2014).
Introduction
Likel…
Interbrand, started in 1974 with its approximately 40 offices around the globe, is one of the biggest and oldest brand consultancy companies around the world. Every year, Interbrand conducts and publishes…
The question if and which slogans and claims can receive trademark protection is topic of a lot of disputes in Germany and throughout the European Union.
Introduction
The protection of slogans is very…