Is it allowed to unreservedly prohibit amino acids in food? No. In the Queisser Pharma case the European Court of Justice ruled that member states are allowed to introduce a national ban on a certain type of food due to health risks.
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On October 26 2016 the District Court of The Hague rendered its judgment in a case brought by Dr Ing HCF Porsche Aktiengesellschaft against an unnamed Dutch individual.
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Consumers who want to file a complaint about a company can use the website klachtenkompas.nl, an initiative of the Dutch Consumers’ Association. This online complaints platform intends to allow the company and the customer to arrive at a solution together.
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Biscuits and sweets producers Mondelez and Nestlé can’t seem to stop litigating over the shape mark of the KIT KAT candy bar. Previously, the CJEU explained that, when the shape of a chocolate bar conformed to a technical function or followed from the nature of the bar, the shape could not be regarded as a shape mark.
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The Advertising Code Authority (RCC) and the Board of Appeal (CvB) have recently been very strict in cases that turn on good taste and decency. Two examples.
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Tempels holds a patent on an indent, or nick, in zwiebacks, so that they can be removed from their tube-like packaging without breaking.
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Have you noticed that since 1 November 2016 car prices seem to have risen by a few thousand euro? It’s thanks to an enforcement action by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) focusing on the automobile sector.
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Italian manufacturer of cleaning products Dasty sells degreaser Dasty through retail chain Wibra. In the Netherlands, Dasty discovered imitations that were virtually indistinguishable from its own products: Dasti. Investigations showed that the counterfeit products originated from Dasty’s former distributor, producer and licensee in Turkey.
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The manufacturer must state the country of origin on jars of honey, unless the packaging is very small, i.e. less than 10 square centimetres. Does this include the portion-cup of honey you get in a hotel with your mint tea?
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In the last week of 2016, just before Christmas, there was another ruling from the Advertising Code Authority (RCC) about the Social Media Advertising Code (RSM). Once again starring Mascha Feoktistova (Mascha).
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The bruised face of transgender ‘Hansje’ is staring at you. This poster is an advertisement for a theater show called ‘De Lankmoedigen’ or freely translated ‘The Tolerant’ by theatre group Oostpool.
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In GS Media BV v Sanoma Media Netherlands BV, Playboy Enterprises International Inc and Britt Geertruida Dekker (C-160/15, September 8, 2016) the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided on whether posting a hyperlink to illegal content constitutes a “communication to the public” within the meaning of Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29.
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The American company WhatsApp Inc. lost a lawsuit on 22 November 2016 that it had filed against the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) after being sanctioned. According to the DPA, WhatsApp had violated the Dutch Personal Data Protection Act as it was found to process personal data of Dutch customers using Dutch smartphones (and not just transferring) while no ‘representative’ had been appointed in the Netherlands.
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On 1 November 2016 Daniël Haije was appointed chairman of the Netherlands Advertising Law Association (VvRr).
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Once in a while, we are happy to give an overview of the latest food law related decisions of the Advertising Code Committee (“ACC”) , the self-regulatory institution in the Netherlands. We also refer to issue 2015/6, in which we gave an overview of the most important FIC-Regulation related decisions in 2015.
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Market Food Group is proprietor of the figurative trademark ‘Bakkerij ’t Stoepje’. The company is known for their big yellow trucks with red letters. MFG delivers confectionery (including bread) to franchisees and other parties. For the biggest part these other parties consist of market traders.
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Tobias McFadden runs a business in lighting and sound systems. As an extra service McFadden offers a wifi-network free of charge and without password protection. Sony Music discovered that someone used this wifi-connection to upload a musical work without their permission and sends a letter.
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After all the commotion about the ‘Blue tick’ (“conscious choice”), the ‘Green tick’s little brother (“healthier choice”), the foundation ‘I Choose Conciously’ decided that as of 1 August of this year the Blue tick is no longer permitted on ‘products with children’s marketing’.
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In the Albert Heijn TV commercial for bread with the ‘Broodnodig’ label, baker Patrick proudly proclaims that his fresh bread contains only the essentials. The complainant is angry because he has discovered on the label that the multigrain bread also contains dextrose, and that is not essential.
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