“EBay and other online marketplaces will be liable for sellers’ trade mark infringements if they promote infringing sales or help sellers to ‘optimise’ their pages, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.”
OUT-LAW.com, 12th July 2011
Source: www.out-law.com
“More than 700 years after the Plantagenet’s death, his floral emblem has become the subject of a struggle as lawyers representing two neighbouring Yorkshire brewers – one large, one small – square up in the High Court to argue their claims over the right to use the symbol in what has been dubbed the civil war of the rose.”
The Independent, 6th July 2011
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Breeders of Gloucestershire Old Spots pigs have won a trademark battle against a meat marketing company over the name of one of its products.”
BBC News, 9th June 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A person threatened another with proceedings for infringement of a registered trade mark within section 21 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 if he stated or implied that he would bring a claim if the other did not agree to the terms he proposed. The test to be applied was whether a reasonable recipient would understand the statements made to indicate nor merely an assertion of legal rights but an intention to enforce those rights.”
WLR Daily, 24th May 2011
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“The use of ‘yellow pages’ in the domain www.transport-yellow-pages.com breached trade mark regulations, a court has ruled. A person finding the website in the UK could think it belonged to Yell, the England and Wales Patent County Court said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 14th April 2011
Source: www.out-law.com
“Rulings by Community trade mark courts should in most cases apply across the EU and not just in the country in which they were made, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 13th April 2011
Source: www.out-law.com
“In opposition proceedings against registration of a trade mark pursuant to article 42 of Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94, the opposing party was not obliged to adduce evidence in support of the opposition. Whilst in relation to proceedings relating to relative grounds for refusal the Board of Appeal of the Office of Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) could take into account facts which were likely to be known by anyone or which might be learned from generally accessible sources, it was not, however, entitled to exceed the conditions governing examination set out in article 74 of Regulation 40/94.”
WLR Daily, 23rd February 2011
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note that once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“The US doctrine of ‘initial interest confusion’ applies in England, a court has decided.”
The Guardian, 29th October 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Trade mark infringement can take place even if a buyer is only confused about one company appearing to be another at the very start of the purchasing process, the High Court has ruled.”
OUT-LAW.com, 26th October 2010
Source: www.out-law.com
“Purely internal use of a trade mark by its proprietor was not ‘genuine use’ of that mark and that internal use was not ‘use’ of a mark as a trade mark at all. It was not use as part (or even preparatory to) a commercial communication with a third party.”
WLR Daily, 25th October 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Brand owners may have less power to prevent sales in Europe of goods intended for other markets after a ruling by England’s Court of Appeal this week. The judgment over the sale of Sun-branded disk drives is likely to be welcomed by independent resellers.”
OUT-LAW.com, 26th August 2010
Source: www.out-law.com
“Google will let companies use competitors’ trade marks as keywords to trigger search adverts in all European countries for the first time. The move will test the interpretation of a number of EU and national court rulings on the controversial practice.”
OUT-LAW.com, 4th August 2010
Source: www.out-law.com
L’Oréal SA and others v Bellure NV and others [2010] EWCA Civ 535; [2010] WLR (D) 134
“The effect of the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European in L’Oréal SA v Bellure NVs (Case C-487/07) [2010] Bus LR 303 was that the use of comparative lists, whereby traders of smell-alike perfume products cited, for marketing purposes, the products in the market to which their own products smelt similar, was unlawful.”
WLR Daily, 24th May 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“A man who sold fake computer games over the internet has been ordered to pay £26,405 following a proceeds of crime investigation.”
BBC News, 12th May 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The ‘own name’ defence under art 12(a) of Council Regulation (EC) 40/94, whereby a community trade mark did not entitle the proprietor to prohibit a third party from using in the course of trade his own name and address, could be available in respect of a trading name, as well as a corporate name of a company, but it would depend on: (i) the actual trading name that had been adopted; (ii) the circumstances in which it had been adopted; and (iii) depending on the circumstances, whether the use was in accordance with honest practices.”
WLR Daily, 4th March 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“It could make for an interesting scenario: a construction worker, a cowboy, a traffic cop, a Native American chief, a sailor, Jamie Oliver, a leather queen, some lawyers and a judge – together in court.”
The Guardian, 18th December 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Nottingham firm Paragon Law has forced West Bromwich and Peterborough firm Paragon Solicitors to change its name and pay legal costs after a trade mark dispute.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 5th November 2009
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“In proceedings concerning the alleged invalidity of a community trade mark, departments of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) are not bound by earlier final decisions in opposition proceedings, since no force of res judicata attaches to such decisions.”
WLR Daily, 29th October 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“A claim that one food mixer violated the trade mark rights of another by being similar in shape has failed. The Court of Appeal said that any similarity in shape between the machines had not given Kenwood an unfair advantage over Whirlpool.”
OUT-LAW.com, 31st July 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
“A father and his two sons who kept dozens of Chinese workers in virtual slavery to run Britain’s biggest DVD piracy operation were jailed for a total of 16 years today.”
The Guardian, 28th July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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