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CJEU: reimbursement of legal costs in IP infringement proceedings must not be disproportionate or even insignificant* On 28 July 2016, the CJEU ruled in a case concerning the reimbursement of legal costs in a patent infringement action in Belgium (United Video Properties Inc. v. Telenet NV,...
The United Kingdom Referendum – BREXIT – Impact on EU trademarks and design rights
Early in the morning of the 24 June 2016 it was announced that, by a slim majority of 51.9% to 48.1% of the participating voters, the decision had been taken for the UK to leave the EU. While not legally binding on the UK government,...
General Court: EUIPO Board of Appeal’s refusal to suspend appeal proceedings if the opposing mark is under attack is subject to strict scrutiny
In a judgment of 12 November 2015, the Court annulled the Fourth Board of Appeal’s decision refusing to suspend opposition proceedings, even though the trademark applicant proved that it has filed for revocation of the Romanian mark held against registration of its mark – by...
New Trademark Law in the EU
Changes in European trademark law: When, Which and How do they affect trademark owners The Trademark Law Reform process in the EU is finally coming to fruition bringing about changes in nomenclature, fees, proceedings, and substantive law affecting both Community and national trademarks. Most of the changes...
HARRY’S BAR is dry – General Court on the similarity of food and beverages to restaurant and bar services
On 18 February 2016, the General Court issued its decision in the HARRY’S BAR case (T-711/13 and T-716-13), where, adopting a rather broad brush approach, it held that food and beverage products were similar – at least to a certain degree – to services of...
IP protection at the Mobile World Congress 2016
For the second year running, the Barcelona IP Courts have approved a Protocol to guarantee a fast-track procedure to deal with IP infringement conflicts that could arise during the Mobile World Congress. The MWC will be held in Barcelona from 22 to 25 February 2016,...
29 January 2016: Latest News regarding CTM Renewals
OHIM has released Communication 2/2016 of the President clarifying that the new fee regime will apply to all CTMs (then EUTMs) that expire on or after 23 March 2016 – even where renewal is requested before that date. All CTMs expiring before that date are subject...
CP3 in practice: descriptive terms are difficult to register solely on account of stylization
In two judgments rendered on 14 January 2016, the General Court confirmed OHIM’s refusal of stylized marks whose verbal elements were descriptive or non-distinctive. It is a coincidence that both decisions are only available in Spanish and French and both marks were in classes 9, 28,...
General Court of the European Union – new Rules of Procedure*)
On 1 July 2015, new Rules of Procedure of the General Court (formerly: Court of First Instance) entered into force. These can be found here. The General Court hears all applications against decisions of the Boards of Appeal of OHIM issuing over 200 judgments per year...
Specifications of goods and services in EU trademarks
How the EU trademark law reform affects these We have previously provided an overview of the Trademark Law Reform in the EU affecting Community and national trademarks (here). This is a follow-up to inform in more detail about the expected impact on the specification of goods...