Understanding Trademark Law Through the Lens of Halloween: A Spooky Guide

Halloween, with its pumpkins, costumes, and haunted houses, is one of the most exciting and creative times of the year. But behind the spooky masks and candy bowls lies a complex world of Intellectual Property Law, especially trademarks, which many businesses need to navigate carefully during the season.

The German Federal Court of Justice ruled on two aspects of trade mark law in its recent decision. The conclusion of the Court was, firstly, that a mark which is registered in black and white is not identical with a mark in colour unless the difference is insignificant. Secondly, the production of plaques consisting merely of a car producer’s trade mark falls within the monopoly granted by the exclusivity right of the trade mark proprietor.    (Judgement: I Z 153/14 of 12 March 2015)
The Situation Report on Counterfeiting in the European Union (EU), prepared by Europol and OHIM through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights is a first try to capture the complex reality of counterfeiting in the EU in 2015. 1. Introduction
Categories: 
The European General Court (EGC) upholds the registrations of the shape of the Lego mini-figures as Community Trademarks (CTMs) (Judgments dated 16 June 2015; Cases T-395/14 and T-396/14). Background of the Case and Subject Matter
Categories: 
This year LexDellmeier is for the first time a part of the European Law Students’ Association’s Student Trainee Exchange Programme.
Categories: 
The European General Court (EGC) dissmissed the appeal of the Swatch AG against the Community Trademark (CTM) application “SWATCHBALL“ by Panvision Europe Ltd (Judgment dated 19 May 2015; Case No.: T‑71/14). Background of the Case and Subject Matter
Categories: 
The European General Court (EGC) decided that the decision of the BoA has to be annulled, but not altered   because it did not mention an earlier decision of a Community Trademark (CTM) court (Judgment dated 25 March 2015; Case No.: T‑378/13). Background of the Case and Subject Matter
Categories: 
The European General Court (EGC) decided that the chequerboard pattern device mark of Louis Vuitton is not distinctibe and therefore has to be declared null and void  (Judgment dated 21 April 2015; Case No.: T360/12). Background of the Case and Subject Matter
Categories: 
The EGC decided that a likelihood of confusion between the word device/mark “Skype” and the word mark “SKY” exists (Judgment dated 5 May 2015; Case No.: T‑184/13). Background of the Case and Subject Matter
Categories: 
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that the language selection of the European Patent Court is no discrimination (Judgment dated 05 May 2015; Case No.: C-147/13). Background of the Case and Subject Matter
Categories: 
The Regional Court Berlin decided that companies cannot choose the language of their General Terms and Conditions (GTCs) by themselves (Judgment dated 9 May 2014; Case No.: 15 O 44/13) Background of the Case and Subject Matter WhatsApp Inc. is the owner of the famous WhatsApp Messenger. This is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay anything. Their website can be called in over thirty languages, one of them is German. However, the GTCs are always only available in English. The Federation of German Consumer Organization requested that WhatsApp Inc. must offer the GTCs in German to fulfill their information duties. Decision