Germany’s highest civil court signs off on the business model behind AdBlock Plus The popular adblocking software AdBlock Plus, and the underlying business model of Eyeo GmbH, do not fall foul of German unfair competition rules. On 19 April, the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) handed down its landmark ruling on the legality of adblocking
Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh
Adblocking reloaded: No unfair competition, says German Supreme Court
“BLACK FRIDAY”: Not a trademark, just a day for special shopping deals
Decision of the German Patent and Trademark Office of 27 March 2018 (ref. no. 30 2013 057 574 – S 33/17/Lösch) The German PTO has seen the light in the dark of the “Black Friday” battles: The term has been declared free for all to use in commerce, signaling the end of a trademark monopoly
Not so unitary after all? Cease & desist and damages claims law in EUTM infringements
The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt recently ruled on the territorial scope of cease and desist claims and the law applicable to damages claims in a case where infringing acts occurred in several EU Member States (Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt, case ref. 6 U 4/15). Generally, the EU trademark regulation provides unitary protection of
A post–Chronopost post: CJEU on territorial scope of EUTMs
The CJEU returns to the consequences of the unitary character of EU trade marks in its recent combit / Commit ruling of 22 September 2016. The court confirms the principles it had laid down in Chronopost in 2011: The aim of protecting the trade mark functions trumps territoriality. Or, in other words: If the use
Germany: First inroads against adblocking
Eyeo ordered on appeal to whitelist Axel Springer media for free on AdBlock Plus German media house Axel Springer has won a first significant victory in the adblocking battle that has been keeping the digital advertising industry on its toes for over a year now. Read up on the procedural history between German media houses
Germany’s highest court rules on apps and weather
Mobile apps are generally worthy of title rights protection, said the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) in a ruling last week. However, these unregistered rights must cross a certain threshold of distinctiveness to qualify for protection – just like their big brothers, registered trademarks. The claimant’s app and domain name “wetter.de” was held not to
Germany: Adblock Plus – Third court ruling rejects claims against Eyeo
On 29 September, the District Court of Cologne became the third court in Germany to issue a decision in relation to the trilogy of actions launched by large publishers against adblocking software Adblock Plus. The court rejected publisher Axel Springer’s action against Eyeo GmbH, the German company behind AdBlock Plus. In doing so, the Cologne court agreed with
Germany: Two bears meet in court – Federal Supreme Court (BGH) substantiates the relation between word marks and 3D marks
The German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) on 23rd September 2015 decided on a dispute between the Swiss chocolatier Lindt and the German sweets manufacturer Haribo (case ref.: I ZR 105/14). The decision will be of interest to all of you with a sweet tooth. The court denies likelihood of confusion between Lindt’s golden chocolate Teddy
Germany: BGH rules on Blue – Market recognition and survey tuning for single colour marks
The German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) handed down its ruling last week on an invalidity action brought against a blue colour mark of German beauty care giant Beiersdorf. Beiersdorf uses its blue colour (Pantone 280 C, to be precise) for its well-known NIVEA skin-care products, on packaging and in advertising. The mark had been registered
Part II of the AdBlock Plus trilogy – Munich court says no infringement
A few weeks ago, we reported on the decision of the Hamburg District Court in the ongoing adblocking litigation concerning the software AdBlock Plus of Eyeo GmbH. Yesterday, the District Court of Munich followed suit, dismissing all claims brought by subsidiaries of RTL und ProSiebenSat.1 Digital. The judges found that the relationship between Eyeo’s business and that
Adblocking to extend to mobile markets?
As reported in the press last week, the rise of adblocking appears to be spreading (read our earlier reports here and here). On 14 May, the Financial Times reported that a number of mobile operators are currently developing plans to block advertising on their networks. One unnamed European wireless carrier told the Financial Times that
AdBlock Plus – Germany: First decision rendered
Recently, we reported on the series of adblocking lawsuits pending in Germany against Eyeo GmbH, the makers of AdBlock Plus. Yesterday, the District Court of Hamburg rendered the first decision in this highly controversial and avidly followed battle of several German media houses, among them Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL subsidiaries. The court ruled in
AdBlock Plus – German media houses want it stopped
Adblocking is an increasingly wide-spread phenomenon with huge impact on the online advertising industry. The best known and by far most popular adblocking tool is AdBlock Plus, marketed by the German company Eyeo GmbH. AdBlock Plus is among the most frequently downloaded browser add-ons worldwide, with over 144 million active users reported in 2014 (Source: