The color red means energy, strength, power and passion. Shoe-wise, for most women it means one thing: Louboutins. However, the road was not easy for the French designer. In-and-out of courts for years now, the battles for his in(famous) “Red Sole” linger on. The most complex one, against van Haren, made its way up to the European Court of Justice (CJEU, ECJ) on 27 May 2016. We are giving you a summary of Louboutin´s time in court, as well as keeping you posted on all the updates.

USA

Christian Louboutin had no problem registering his red soles in the USA. Under the registration numbers 3376197 and 3361597, the US Patent and Trademark Office readily protected “lacquered red sole on footwear” or the “Red Sole Mark”. Weiterlesen über Trademark issue: Red sole(ly) for Louboutin?

An Italian decision from March 2016 clarified the scope of protection for shape marks when it comes to jewelry, where a minor design change makes all the difference. The judge confirmed that even the smaller design discrepancies are enough to exclude foul-play and the possibility of misleading the customers.

Background of the case Weiterlesen über Talking jewelry: what makes a valid shape mark?

On April 24, 2016 the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published the report on infringements of protected geographical indications (GIs) for agricultural products in the EU. A GI is an indication (usually a name) used on products having a specific geographical origin and possessing a given quality, reputation or other characteristic that is essentially attributable to that origin. The study was conducted from 2012 to 2015, with the aim to establish the size and value of the GI market in the EU, as well as the impact of infringements on EU customers. It included all protected GIs, coming from EU Member States and third counties, protected through registration or by an international agreement.

  Weiterlesen über EUIPO publishes the first study attempting to assess the dimension of GI infringements in the EU

We all know that the Internet is everywhere and that our life without has become unimaginable. We also know that its popularity soaring by the minute. However, the rates of its expansion might be even more than anyone could have imagined. If the number of Internet users continues to rocket at current rate, it is predicted to have 5 billion users by 2020. The expected population by that time is 7.8 billion. Therefore, 64% of population in the world will be connected! This is especially shocking in comparison to the numbers from 2014, when (only) 40% of citizens were Internet users.

In the past fifteen years, not only have the numbers skyrocketed, China has taken over the lead in the highest number of Internet users. It clearly established its dominance, doubling the numbers of the next-in-line USA.

Weiterlesen über Surfing through the latest data on TLDs