Virtual Goods in Focus – EU General Court’s First Ruling

Post date: 
January 21, 2025
Categories: 
EUIPO, The Court of Justice of the European Union, Trademark Law, European General Court, Decisions, Distinctiveness, Intellectual Property
Tags: 
#virtualgoods, #gc, #watches, #glashuette

Virtual Goods in Focus – EU General Court’s First Ruling

The General Court (GC) has issued its first-ever ruling on the distinctiveness of a trademark applied to virtual goods. The decision T11163/23 dated 11 December 2024 – “Glashütte ORIGINAL”  concerned the application for the following sign:

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NEW Fees for EU Trademarks as of 23 March 2016

Post date: 
February 02, 2016
Categories: 
Uncategorized

The fee system at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) will change from the fee system applied by OHIM - the "old" name of the office until 23 March 2016. The system will change from a basic fee that covers up to three classes of goods and services to a ‘pay-per-class' system.

EU: Significant changes to the trademark system

Post date: 
December 21, 2015
Categories: 
Community Trademark
Tags: 
Community Trademark, European Union, Trademark law
The EU trademark reform package was approved by the European Parliament on 15 December 2015. The amendments are expected to come into force in March/April 2016. The reform package brings changes to the Community Trademark Regulations (Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009) and adopts a new Directive to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trademarks. The reform is extensive; the new Directive consists of 57 articles whereas the old Directive only had 19 articles. Major changes are also made to the regulation: for example, the structure of the fees payable will be significantly changed.

EU: Trademark reform package approved by the European Parliament on 15 December 2015

Post date: 
December 16, 2015
Categories: 
Community Trademark
Tags: 
Community Trademark, European Parliament, OHIM, Trademark law
The reform of the EU trademark system has been ongoing since 2008 and is finally ready for publication. The updated rules aim for a more efficient and cost effective trademark registration process. The dual system of national and EU trademarks covering all 28 member states is retained, whilst national and EU trademark registration procedures are streamlined and further harmonized. The trademark reform package includes amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 on the Community trademark and the adoption of a new Directive to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trademarks. European Parliament adopted the new laws without any amendments to the Council’s position in first reading.

INTA / DPMA Roundtable for Paralgeals on 28 January 2015

Post date: 
December 15, 2015
Categories: 
Events
Tags: 
INTA, Intellectual Property, IP Paralegal Roundtable, Roundtable

  The mini seminar will be held in German. Paralegals have vastly different responsibilities around the globe. Join us for a discussion on
  • an update from the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) as well as
  • the role and challenges of a paralegal working outside your country at another office and how to use this to enhance your career
  • the challenges and views on running a trademark portfolio in-house
  • what you need to know about preliminary injunction proceedings (PI’s) in trademark cases in Germany

EGC: Likelihood of confusion between figurative mark ‘cushe’ and earlier ‘she’ marks

Post date: 
December 02, 2015
Categories: 
Decisions
Tags: 
European General Court, Likelihood of confusion, Trademarks
The General Court (EGC) held that as the marks were phonetically identical and visually and conceptually similar they should be regarded as similar overall. Followed from this it was held that the mark at issue could be perceived by the relevant public as originating from the same undertaking or undertakings economically linked to the earlier word mark.

EGC: ELITEDISPLAY and ELITEPAD descriptive for the goods designated in the applications

Post date: 
November 27, 2015
Categories: 
Community Trademark
Tags: 
Community Trademark, Decision, Distinctiveness, European General Court
The General Court (EGC) dismissed HP’s appeals in both cases and confirmed that the Community Trademarks (CTM) ELITEDISPLAY and ELITEPAD are descriptive for the goods in respect of which registrations were sought (Judgments dated 22 October 2015; Cases T-470/14 and T‑

Fight against counterfeiting – new platform to facilitate the identification of counterfeit goods

Post date: 
November 25, 2015
Categories: 
Counterfeiting
Tags: 
Counterfeiting, Counterfeits, Customs, Product Piracy
The World Customs Organization (WCO) was established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC). It is an independent intergovernmental body with a mission to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of customs administrations. It is the only international organization with competence in customs matters.

Brand Reputation

Post date: 
November 20, 2015
Categories: 
Uncategorized

EGC: “CHOICE” cannot be registered as a Trademark

Post date: 
November 18, 2015
Categories: 
Uncategorized

EGC: H&M’s design handbag battle against YSL

Post date: 
November 13, 2015
Categories: 
Design Law
Tags: 
Community Designs, Declaration of invalidity, Designs, European General Court
The General Court (EGC) upheld the decision by the Board of Appeal (BoA) regarding the invalidity proceedings in respect of the Yves Saint Laurent SAS (YSL) registered Community designs (RCD) 000613294-0001 and 000613294-0002. The EGC held that the contested designs had individual character with respect to the H&M’s prior design and therefore rejected the applications for a declaration of invalidity. (Cases T-525/13 and T-526/13, Judgment of 10 September 2015) Background of the case and subject matter