Everything we covered on WTR over the past seven days – and all you need to know from the world of trademarks to set yourself up for the start of another busy week.
EUIPO has ruled recently in a dispute where Louis Vuitton tried to defend its famous abbreviation LV in the EU. The case at hand concerns an application by one individual for the following figurative European trademarks in classes 25 and 26: Against this application, an opposition was filed by Louis Vuitton based on the following … Continue reading Louis Vuitton lost a trademark dispute in the EU for the abbreviations LV and NL
On 21st December 2021, the General Court (GC), in case T-369/20, dealt with “likelihood of association” setting out a double test which seems to be at odds with the previous case law, notably the landmark Sabel case (C-251/95). The EUTM application “CEFA Certified European Financial Analyst” in classes 9 and 41 was opposed on the...
Everything we covered on WTR over the past seven days – and all you need to know from the world of trademarks to set yourself up for the start of another busy week.
As the novel coronavirus epidemic continues to spread across the globe, WTR provides an updated look at measures that national IP offices have launched in response.
Protection of trademarks can hide some traps especially when companies want to use not so distinctive signs. Although in some cases such signs can be registered (for example in combination with fonts, graphics, etc.) this doesn’t mean automatically that the relevant trademark protection is completely solid. A good example of this is a lawsuit Case … Continue reading Nissan lost a trademark dispute associating with electric vehicles
The US-based footwear company Skechers lost a case T‑598/20 before the General Court of the European Union. The dispute at hand concerns an application for a European trademark ARCHFIT in class 25 – Footwear. The EUIPO refused to register this sign based on absolute grounds Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation 2017/1001 – descriptiveness and lack … Continue reading Skechers lost a trademark dispute in the EU
2021 has yet again been a busy year for the General Court when it comes to decisions dealing with EU trademarks. It would also have been busy for the Court of Justice; however, alas, also in 2021 the CJEU has not allowed a single appeal in EUTM matters to proceed, rejecting 47 appeals as not...
We surely cannot. With Messi (see cases C-449/18P and C-474/18P MESSI) and Miley Cyrus (case T‑368/20 MILEY CYRUS), we learnt that reputation or renown of (personal) names is a factor which should be taken in consideration when comparing marks and which may ultimately exclude confusion with an earlier similar mark. However, two recent cases seem...
The General Court of the European Union has ruled in case T‑211/20 Square, Inc. v EUIPO. The US company Square, which recently has been rebranded as Block Inc., filed the following combined European trademark for class 36 – Electronic transfer of financial instruments for others: The EUIPO refused to register this sign on absolute grounds – … Continue reading Square failed to register CASH APP as an EU trademark
As you may recall from our post on the ‘Sony Vita’ invalidation case, where a trade mark is registered for a product but only used for something viewed by consumers as a different product, the trade mark right for the registered product for which it is not used is lost, even if it resembles the...
