Food mixer did not violate rival’s trade mark by using similar shape – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 31st, 2009 in appeals, news, trade marks by sally

“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.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 31st July 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

Britain’s biggest DVD pirates jailed – The Guardian

Posted July 29th, 2009 in conspiracy, copyright, news, sentencing, trade marks by sally

“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.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th July 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

L’Oréal SA and others v Bellure NV and others – WLR Daily

Posted June 22nd, 2009 in advertising, EC law, law reports, trade marks by sally

L’Oréal SA and others v Bellure NV and others (Case C-487/07); [2009] WLR (D) 203

“The claimants, producers and marketers of luxury perfumes, were the proprietors in the United Kingdom of well-known trade marks, some in the form of word marks alone, and others being word and figurative marks including a representation of the bottle or packaging for the particular perfume. The defendants, the producer of and two companies which marketed imitations of fine fragrances, offered a range of products some of whose bottles and packaging were generally similar to those of products of the claimants’, although it was common ground that the similarity was unlikely to mislead professionals or the public. The defendant marketing companies provided to their retailers lists which compared the smell of a product of the defendants’ with a product of the claimants’ which was being imitated, in each case identified by reference to the word mark by which the product was known. In trade mark infringement proceedings brought by the claimants, a number of issues arose relating to the interpretation of (i) Council Directive 89/104/EEC on trade marks and (ii) article 3a(1) of Council Directive 84/450/EEC on misleading and comparative advertising as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 97/55/EC (‘Directive 84/450’), and the Chancery Division of the High Court referred questions thereon to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling.”

WLR Daily, 19th June 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.

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG v Franz Hauswirth GmbH – WLR Daily

Posted June 15th, 2009 in EC law, law reports, trade marks by sally

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG v Franz Hauswirth GmbH (Case C-529/07); [2009] WLR (D) 182

“The fact that, at the time of applying for registration of a sign as a trade mark, the applicant knew or was to be taken as knowing that an identical or similar sign capable of being confused with the applicant’s sign was being used by others for an identical or similar product, could constitute bad faith on the applicant’s part rendering the registration amenable to a declaration of invalidity.”

WLR Daily, 12th June 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.

LastMinute.com wins right to block last minute trade mark – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 12th, 2009 in EC law, news, trade marks by sally

“Online travel company LastMinute.com has won the right to have a competing firm’s European trade mark cancelled. The European Union’s Court of First Instance (CFI) has backed the British firm, overturning a ruling by the EU office for trade marks.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 11th June 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

EBay has ‘no legal duty’ to protect others’ trade marks, says High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 29th, 2009 in internet, news, trade marks by sally

“Online auction site eBay has ‘no legal duty’ to protect other companies’ trade marks or stop its sellers from infringing them, the High Court has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 26th May 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

ECJ rulings on Google keywords might not resolve controversy, warns High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 27th, 2009 in advertising, EC law, internet, news, trade marks by sally

“A widely-requested European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on keyword advertising may fail to give businesses in the UK and Ireland the legal clarity it would give to the rest of Europe, a High Court judge has warned.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 26th May 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

Regina v Kousar – Times Law Reports

Regina v Kousar

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“A wife who knew her husband was storing business merchandise in the matrimonial home, acquiesced in it being there and did not demand its removal, was not in control or possession of the goods.”

The Times, 25th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Mastermind of Britain’s biggest stolen car ‘ringing’ scam jailed – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 13th, 2009 in money laundering, news, sentencing, trade marks by sally

“The mastermind behind Britain’s biggest stolen car ‘ringing’ operation, worth more than £38 million, has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.”

Full story 

Daily Telegraph, 12th March 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK trade mark fees will fall, says IPO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 11th, 2009 in fees, news, trade marks by sally

“The cost of registering trade marks in the UK will fall under plans proposed by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The move is a response to reduced EU trade mark prices and to falling demand for marks.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th March 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

L’Oreal in High Court battle with eBay – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 10th, 2009 in counterfeiting, internet, news, trade marks by sally

“L’Oreal, the cosmetics giant, has begun a High Court action over the sale of fake fragrances and cosmetic products on eBay.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th March 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Essex Trading Standards v Singh – WLR Daily

Posted March 5th, 2009 in law reports, trade marks, trading standards by sally

Essex Trading Standards v Singh; [2009] WLR (D) 81

In order to acquit a defendant of a charge of unauthorised use of registered trade marks in relation to goods, contrary to s 92(1)(c) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, under the statutory defence provided by s 92(5) of the Act, it was not enough for the court to conclude on the facts that the defendant had acted in the honest belief that the use of the signs was not an infringement of the registered trade marks; it was also necessary to find that he had reasonable grounds for so believing.”

WLR Daily, 4th March 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.

R v Kousar – WLR Daily

Posted January 23rd, 2009 in law reports, trade marks by sally

R v Kousar [2008]; [2009] WLR (D) 16

A wife who shared the matrimonial home with her husband, whom she knew was storing merchandise from his business at home, but acquiesced in it being there and did not demand he remove it, was not in control or possession of the goods within the meaning of s 92(1)(c) of the Trade Marks Act 1994.”

WLR Daily, 22nd January 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.

Branded promotional items do not use trade marks, says ECJ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 21st, 2009 in EC law, news, trade marks by sally

“The use of a word or phrase in relation to free promotional items is not ‘genuine trade mark use’  under EU laws, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 20th January 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

Silberquelle GmbH v Maselli-Strickmode GmbH – WLR Daily

Posted January 19th, 2009 in law reports, trade marks by sally

Silberquelle GmbH v Maselli-Strickmode GmbH (Case C-495/07); WLR(D) 6

Where the proprietor of a trade mark affixed the mark to items that it gave free of charge to purchasers of its goods, it did not make genuine use of the mark so far as those items were concerned, for the purpose of, inter alia, art 12(1) of Directive 89/104.”

WLR Daily, 16th January 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.

Intel Corpn Inc v CPM United Kingdom Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted December 1st, 2008 in EC law, law reports, trade marks by sally

Intel Corpn Inc v CPM United Kingdom Ltd (Case C-252/07); [2008] WLR (D) 371

A national court, considering an invalidity application brought by the proprietor of a registered trade mark with a reputation, had to take into account all the factors relevant to the circumstances of the case. Those factors included the fact that, for an average consumer who was reasonably well informed and observant a later trade mark called an earlier mark with a reputation to mind, was in principle tantamount to the establishment of such a link between the conflicting marks. But an absence of similarity between the product areas concerned could not be taken to imply the absence of such a link. Belief in an economic connection between the marks was not a necessary criterion.”

WLR Daily, 27th November 2008

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.

Intel ruling sets tough dilution test for owners of famous brands – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 28th, 2008 in news, trade marks by sally

“The owner of a famous trade mark can stop a similar mark being used for completely different goods and services but must show that the new mark will have an economic impact on consumers to its detriment, the European Court of Justice has ruled.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 28th November 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Intel ruling restricts legal protection for famous brands – The Times

Posted November 27th, 2008 in brand names, trade marks by sally

“Companies will find it harder to protect well-known brands from being exploited by other businesses following a landmark ruling by Europe’s highest court today.”

Full story

The Times, 27th November 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Trade mark owner loses domain name claim against unauthorised reseller – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 24th, 2008 in domain names, news, trade marks by sally

“Dealers and resellers can use a manufacturer’s trade mark as a domain name even when their sales are not authorised by the manufacturer, an arbitration panel has ruled.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 19th November 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Fake audiobook seller jailed – The Independent

Posted November 20th, 2008 in copyright, counterfeiting, news, sentencing, trade marks by sally

“A man who conned people with counterfeit audiobooks, including the best-selling Harry Potter tales, was today jailed for 21 months.”

Full story

The Independent, 20th November 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk