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:

01 Read more about Virtual Goods in Focus – EU General Court’s First Ruling

WIPO: Single application form for all Madrid System applications

Post date: 
November 12, 2015
Categories: 
Procedural rules
Tags: 
Madrid System, Registration, WIPO
From 31 October 2015 the Madrid System operates as a single treaty system and the Protocol governs all the designations in the International Register.  All new international applications shall be filed using the MM2 International Application form. On 31 October 2015, the Madrid Protocol entered into force in Algeria, which was the last remaining Contracting Party of the Madrid Union to be a member of the Madrid Agreement only. Following the entry into force of the Madrid Protocol in Algeria, the Protocol will apply in the relationships between all the Contracting Parties of the Madrid Union.  Therefore, all Madrid System users will benefit from the flexibilities and features of the Protocol. Key features of the Protocol now available to all users:
  • Filing of international applications based on national/regional applications or registrations, via a single form (MM2)

Interbrand: Best 100 Global Brands 2015

Post date: 
November 11, 2015
Categories: 
Brand Value
Tags: 
Best Global Brands, Best Global Brands 2015, Brand Value, Interbrand, Studies
Interbrand was founded by John Murphy in 1974 as one of the first brand consultancy companies. Meanwhile, it has approximately 31 offices in 27 countries and is one of the largest and oldest brand consultancy companies around the world. Every year, Interbrand conducts and publishes various studies relating to brands, their value and the impact on companies and consumers. Interbrand’s 16th annual Best Global Brands Report was released on 5 October 2015.

EU: Possible extension of GI protection to non-agricultural products

Post date: 
November 10, 2015
Categories: 
Geographical Indications
Tags: 
European Commission, European Parliament, Geographical Indications, IP
On 6 October 2015 the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on the possible extension of geographical indication (GI) protection of the European Union (EU) to non-agricultural products. The resolution follows a stakeholder consultation concluded in October 2014 which favored an EU system of protection based on geographical indications for non-agricultural products. The Commission is called to propose without delay a legislative proposal for a single European system of GI protection for non-agricultural products.

ETMDN: Communication on the Common Practice of Distinctiveness - figurative marks containing descriptive or non-distinctive words

Post date: 
October 30, 2015
Categories: 
Distinctiveness
Tags: 
descriptive, distinctive character, Distinctiveness, figurative marks
European Trade Mark and Design Network (ETMDN)

CJEU: Preliminary ruling on questions relating to protectability of the Kit Kat shape

Post date: 
October 27, 2015
Categories: 
Decisions
Tags: 
3-D-Mark, Case Law, England
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given a preliminary ruling on questions relating to Nestlé’s three-dimensional trademark application representing the shape of a four finger chocolate-coated wafer without the embossed words Kit Kat.

Job opening - Attorney at Law at LexDellmeier IP Law Firm

Post date: 
October 25, 2015
Categories: 
Uncategorized
LexDellmeier IP Law Firm is looking for a German qualified Attorney at Law (Rechtsanwalt/Rechtsanwältin) as of 1 March 2016 or earlier. For more information please see our ad in German under: https://lexdellmeier.wordpress.com/jobs/

ELSA Trainee at LexDellmeier IP Law Firm

Post date: 
October 23, 2015
Categories: 
Uncategorized
Tags: 
ELSA, Finnland, Trainee, Traineeship
This year LexDellmeier has accepted two interns through the European Law Student’s Association (ELSA) Student Trainee Exchange Programme. It is my pleasure to be working with the LexDellmeier team from late-October until Christmas. My name is Nina Seitz and I come from Helsinki, Finland. I am currently in my fourth year of law school in the University of Helsinki. Before my studies in law I have completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. I started working in the field of Intellectual Property already during my studies in economics. After a few years of working as a trademark and design assistant I decided to pursue a career in the legal field. During my law studies I have continued working for an IP law firm in Helsinki, mainly focusing on trademark and design matters.

EGC: Foldable box of a labour game protectable as a trademark

Post date: 
October 14, 2015
Categories: 
Brand
Tags: 
3-D-Mark, Brands, Community Trademark, European General Court
The European General Court (EGC) rejected the application for registration as a Community Trademark (CTM) of a three-dimensional sign of the shape of a rectangular games box consisting of a system of sliding racks for assembly and disassembly, for games and toys, because it is devoid of any distinctive character (Case T‑547/13, Judgement of 8 October 2015). Background of the case and subject matter On 11 September 2012, the company Rosian Express SRL filed an application for registration for the following three-dimensional CTM Application (No.: 532940) at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) for, inter alia, games and toys:

WIPO: Global Innovation Index 2015

Post date: 
October 09, 2015
Categories: 
Global Innovation Index
Tags: 
Global Innovation Index, Innovation, INSEAD, WIPO
The 8th edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015: “Effective Innovation Policies for Development” is the result of a collaboration between Cornell University, the international business school INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as co-publishers and their knowledge partners. The report ranks 141 countries and economies around the world on the basis of 79 indicators to show new ways that emerging - economy policymakers can boost innovation and spur growth by building on local strengths and ensuring the development of a sound national innovation environment.Top 10 leader 1. Top 10 leaders The “Top 10” leaders allocated in the GII this year are:

Update of the OHIM Guidelines

Post date: 
October 08, 2015
Categories: 
Community Trademark
Tags: 
Board of Appeal, Community Trademark, European General Court, Knowledge Circles, OHIM, OHIM Guidelines
On 1 August 2015, the second part of OHIM's (Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market) updated Guidelines entered into force. Since 2013, the Knowledge Circles of OHIM which involves staff from different departments and the Boards of Appeal (BoAs), started uniting the Manuals of trademarks and design practices and “official” Guidelines into a single set of published Guidelines. These Guidelines reflect the practice of the office in the most frequent scenarios. Therefore, they are the main point of reference for users of the Community Trademark system. But, the Guidelines are not legislative texts and therefore they are not binding.