A "Champagne Sorbet" may only bear the name "Champagne" if the taste of the sorbet is also essentially characterized by Champagne. After years of litigation up to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) the Higher...more
German courts have been dealing with the Metall auf Metall [song by the German band Kraftwerk] case for two decades. Recently, the CJEU, too, has had to deal with the case and ruled by judgment of 29 July 2019 (C-476/17) that...more
8/5/2019
/ Artistic Works ,
Audio Recording ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Digital Sampling ,
EU ,
Infringement ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music Industry ,
Musical Sound Recordings
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled that online sales platforms are not necessarily obliged to always provide consumers with a contact telephone number in order to meet statutory obligations. Other means of...more
In its judgment C-693/17 earlier this year, the CJEU confirmed a decision of the GC in design invalidity proceedings, in which the proprietor of a trademark protecting the image of product packaging successfully took action...more
7/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Brand ,
Corporate Branding ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Logos ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Enforcement ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Invalidity ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
The use of figurative signs and words that evoke a geographical area which is associated with a protected designation of origin may constitute an unlawful evocation of the latter. This was the CJEU’s conclusion in its...more
Since 2013, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has tried to prohibit the Swabian whisky producer Waldhornbrennerei, which is based in Berglen near Stuttgart, from using the trade mark “Glen Buchenbach”. ...more
4/15/2019
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Distilleries ,
Germany ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Wine & Alcohol