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
Trade fairs offer patent proprietors particular opportunities to take action against infringements of their IP rights. However, successfully enforcing patent rights requires careful planning and expert implementation to avoid pitfalls. Exhibitors who fear being sued for patent infringement at a trade fair must also be well prepared. Trade fairs are one of the key marketing
Virtual realities don’t just offer a fascinating experience for the user, they also give rise to a large number of legal issues: What is the best way to protect technical inventions? Should patent applications be filed or is it better to keep inventions secret? What stumbling blocks may be encountered when cooperating with other companies
EU Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure must be implemented in the EU Member States by June 2018. The Directive seeks to address the increasing importance of trade secrets, the growing threat to classified information and how to effectively combat industrial espionage and protect secrets.
BGH, October 10, 2017 – I ZB 96/16, published on February 6, 2018 Another milestone for cease and desist orders has been reached in Germany. The German Federal Supreme Court has clarified in a number of decisions that defendants in cease and desist orders not only have to cease the infringing use but also have to
We are very pleased to announce our award for Law Firm of the Year for IP at the JUVE Awards last night! After four nominations in recent years, in which JUVE certified that we are “the Go-To-firm for difficult IP cases” and emphasised both the international and the precedence-setting nature of our German practice’s work, we are
In this series of blog posts, we take a look at the current state of play regarding blockchain technology as well as the legal setting with a European and German focus. Whoever thinks of blockchain also has inevitably bitcoins in mind. The Internet currency is largely based on the blockchain technology and it is therefore one of the most obvious
Background The constitutional complaint against the UPC ratification that was lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany earlier this year has received a lot of attention over the past few months as it could have the potential to considerably delay the entry into force of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA). Pursuant
Life sciences businesses dedicate huge resources to advertising material in a fiercely competitive market. Partner Tanja Eisenblätter discusses false advertising in this sector and why it is important for clients looking to launch new products. Preliminary injunctions in Germany Tanja presents a typical business case in which a client’s global advertising and its competitors’ advertising are assessed for misleading or unlawful content. In
The German Federal Network Agency for Energy, Telecommunications, Post and Railway, has issued a record fine of €300,000 against an electricity supplier for systematic cold call advertising. Violations of the German Unfair Competition Act (UWG) generally involve the risk of competitors seeking cease and desist orders, or consumers claiming compensation. The violation of Sec. 7 UWG
– Draft guidance of German Federal Ministry of Finance released for discussion purposes Yesterday the German Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesfinanzministerium) released a draft circular on the German tax treatment of royalties paid for software and database licenses granted by non-resident licensors (the draft can be found here). The draft is highly important to clients
A new legislative approach of the German tax authorities, which had been leaked in December 2016 (see our earlier report), was passed on Thursday, 27 April 2017, as one of the very last laws of the current Bundestag prior to the elections in September this year. On Friday, 2nd June 2017 the Bundesrat gave its
On 23 March 2017, the German Parliament passed new rules on criminal law measures for recovery of criminal proceeds. In the future, enforcement of financial claims against criminal offenders will be widely handled by the public prosecution. Whilst the new rules may facilitate access to compensation for private parties affected by crimes, intellectual property right
A new legislative approach of the German tax authorities leaked last December 19 and approved by the German government on January 25, 2017 (see German language text here) will have a significant impact on the tax deductibility of royalties owed to related persons being subject to a preferential back end tax regime for IP not
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
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
New content on LimeGreen IP Knowhow Hogan Lovells’ LimeGreen IP now includes content on the laws governing design prosecution and requests for invalidation of designs in Europe (RCD) Germany and Italy. Guidelines for more jurisdictions will follow in due course. The new design prosecution section on LimeGreen IP covers how extent or length of protection and requirements of
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
Court of Appeal, Düsseldorf (Germany), order dated 16 October 2014 (file no. I-15 U 21/14) Currently, most EU member states, including Germany, do not recognize lump sum supplemental damages aiming to punish and deter the infringer. In October 2014 the Court of Appeal of Düsseldorf made a reference for a preliminary ruling to the Court
Link to Fashionunited.com blog post in DE
In order to optimize the prosecution and opposition proceedings for German national patents before the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO), the German Patent Act was amended with effect as of 1 April 2014. Goal of New Rules Each year, approximately 60,000 patent applications are filed with the GPTO and over 120,000 national patents are