When you go out to eat and you choose a drink with your meal, would go for mineral water, wine or beer? The answer, of course, depends on your individual preferences and habits. However, when it comes to trademarks, the question might become of interest when the degree of similarity between mineral water, wine and beer has to be assessed and decided in infringement, opposition or invalidity proceedings. The decisions of the different trademark offices and courts are not always consistent and often unpredictable. At least regarding the degree of similarity between “beers” and other beverages, you may now find some guidance by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

Weiterlesen über CHEERS! About Similarity between Beers and other Beverages

Following a request for a preliminary ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on January 30, 2020 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on when unregistered designs of individual parts enter into force in the event of disclosure of the overall product.Following a request for a preliminary ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on January 30, 2020 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on when unregistered designs of individual parts enter into force in the event of disclosure of the overall product. Weiterlesen über Ferrari succeeds on the basis of unregistered designs

The owners of the PLUMAflex by Road trademark, Jose A. Alfonso, lost the case before the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for the registration of their trademark. The multinational company PUMA took action against them and was able to prevail thanks to its widespread recognition in the European area. The General Court confirms the EUIPOs decision, in which it finds similarity between the figurative mark “PLUMAFLEX by ROAD” and the earlier mark “PUMA” for identical goods.

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  Weiterlesen über Well-known trademark “PUMA” prevails against “PLUMAflex by Road”

Source: GPTO Website – picture of logo of the GPTO and the Imperial Patent Office

As you may know, the headquarter of the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) is located in Munich, Germany. However, this has only been the case since 1949. The history of the GPTO already began in 1877 in Berlin. Weiterlesen über Historical facts about the German Patent and Trademark Office