The concept of ‘neutralization’ is becoming a general principle rather than an exception to the rule. This can be detrimental to owners of trademarks, even famous trademarks.
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Spin Master markets the well-known Rubik's Cube. Goliath offers another "cube-shaped game object" on the market, the NexCube. Does the latter infringe? How far does the scope of copyright protection for the famous Rubik's Cube extend?
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Fruugo is an ordinary online marketplace: retailers upload and sell their own products on Fruugo, while Fruugo does not sell goods itself. Audi and Volkswagen found non-authorised products on Fruugo’s website and initiated infringement proceedings. They claim that not only the retailers on the Fruugo platform, but also Fruugo itself infringes their trademarks.
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The name 247 Laser Cutting does not infringe on the trademark and trade name of 247tailorsteel. This was decided by the District Court of The Hague in summary proceedings. While there is obviously more at play in this trademark infringement case, one part in the decision stands out to me.
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On June 1, 2023, the Unitary Patent will be launched. Protection will then finally be obtained with one (granted) patent in all 17 EU countries that have joined the Unitary Patent system. These countries so far are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.
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Carnival did not start with confetti for a carnival artist from Tilburg this year. In summary proceedings the court ruled that the carnival song 'Willies Car Palace' indeed infringes on the personality rights of another musician. The song is not a parody and therefore constitutes unauthorized infringement.
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Amazon features a mix of products. Some are offered on this marketplace by Amazon itself, but the same products are also sold by third-party sellers. Amazon offers such third-party sellers support for, among other things, shipping, warehousing and returns of products offered on Amazon. This hybrid business model got Amazon into trouble.
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Should a mark including the particle 'fucking' be registered as a trademark? Or is such sign contrary to accepted principles of morality? The EUIPO Fourth Board of Appeal recently upheld the refusal of the device mark NELEMAN JUST FUCKING GOOD WINE as an EU trademark.
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Sisvel is conducting numerous proceedings on patents of which it owns or manages the licensing portfolio. Some people call it Europe's biggest "patent troll." A what? Yes it is a peculiar word, wikipedia explains where it comes from.
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When is a trademark owner in bad faith when filing his trademark repeatedly? The General Court ruled on this issue in the case of Hasbro v. EUIPO. Hasbro had the trademark Monopoly registered several times. In 2019, EUIPO declared the mark partially invalid (for part of the goods and services), alleging that Hasbro had acted in bad faith when applying to register the mark. Hasbro appealed this decision, but the Board of Appeal and recently the General Court rejected it.
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There is a rule in trademark law that descriptive indications may not be monopolized as trademarks. These designations must be kept free for everyone. For example, the word "Apple" cannot be a trademark for apples. Nor can Apple sue supermarkets and greengrocers for their use of the descriptive designation apple.
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Our partner Moïra Truijens has recently been appointed as .NL Domain Name Panelist at the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in Geneva.
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