Since November 2014, when the first IP courts were set up in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China has been rapidly setting up new specialised IP tribunals throughout its vast hinterland. The IP Courts and tribunals are meant to deal with China’s booming IP caseload, which reached a total of 213,480 IP cases in 2017, an
The LEGO Group rarely puts itself under the spotlight by talking about litigation but it made an exception by commenting on its recent victories against two Chinese infringers. The IP lawyers behind said victories are from our Shanghai office and its associated office, Hogan Lovells Fidelity, in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. Two Chinese toy makers (the “defendants”) were jointly
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
IP Enforcement Focus is our series of written, video and audio posts which plug into your current European enforcement issues. These posts cover IP related court cases as well as relevant political and economic developments in this area. Since January, we have published 13 summaries of key IP enforcement developments, including 8 v-logs. This round-up outlines each commentary with a link to the full post,
The Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (“HKIAC”) has recently issued its final award in the trademark litigation saga surrounding “The Voice of China” – which we first discussed here. This case is high-profile and interesting, because it involves parallel arbitral and judicial procedures (including a rare preliminary injunction) about the ownership of the rights in
In this two-part IP Enforcement v-log, we talk about the implication of earlier company name rights and the possibility to rely on unfair competition law when the claimant has no earlier trademark rights. To illustrate this topic, we will use the Hard Rock Cafe – case in Germany. A second v-log will follow, highlighting another key takeaway
In a decision of 6 December 2016, the French Supreme Court of the Judiciary (“Cour de Cassation”) provided a very useful clarification in relation to unfair competition claim (“concurrence déloyale”, a tortious action) based on domain names. The Cour de Cassation stressed that neither the distinctiveness nor the originality of a domain name were a
After years of litigation Hogan Lovells achieved a ground-breaking settlement for the Hard Rock Group. A restaurant with the same name which operated without a license in Heidelberg will cease to operate at the end of February. In return the Hard Rock Group waives part of the damage claims that were granted to it. Background:
We’ve recently released our Global bribery and corruption review — a guide to developments in anti-bribery and corruption regulation and enforcement. In it we review events, examine trends, draw on our work with clients, and project what might happen in 2017. The review looks at a number of regions, including the United States, United Kingdom,
In this IP Enforcement Focus v-log, we report on a surprising decision by the German Supreme Court that has the potential to have enormous practical relevance. The court had to deal with the question of whether a cease and desist order aimed at the distribution of infringing products includes the obligation to recall the products from third
A letter to the customers of a handset conceiver and seller, warning them against possible infringement, may constitute an offer for a Fair Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory (“FRAND”) license and is not constitutive of unfair competition. Wiko v. SISVEL, Commercial Court of Marseille, France 20/09/2016 The case reported is the first French FRAND-case initiated after the Huawei/ZTE
IP Enforcement Focus is our series of written, video and audio posts which plug into your current European enforcement issues. These posts cover IP related court cases as well as relevant political and economic developments in this area. Over the last quarter, we have published 12 summaries of key IP enforcement developments, including 4 v-logs. This roundup outlines each commentary with a link
In this IP Enforcement Focus v-log, we highlight the key take-aways from a recent German Supreme Court decision dealing with unfair competition claims based on non-compliance of technical standards where the specific consumer is protected. Harmonised European standards set the bar for German law in this case, meaning that the implications widen to cover a range of jurisdictions
The Beijing IP Court recently issued a widely discussed preliminary injunction against Canxing (上海灿星文化传播有限公司) in a trademark dispute about the name of a famous TV program “the Voice of China”/”中国好声音”. In its first preliminary injunction since its establishment in December 2014, the Beijing IP Court ordered Canxing to immediately cease the use of the name
In a recent appeal, China’s Supreme People’s Court (“SPC“) found in favour of Michelin against Sen Tai Da and related parties (“Sen Tai Da“) for trademark infringement. The SPC’s decision is significant in that it authoritatively confirms the emerging trend to take the reputation of a mark into account when determining the level of the
We’ve added Vietnam to the jurisdictions on Hogan Lovells’ LimeGreen IP. You can find three new topics focused on guiding you through the following areas of IP law in Vietnam: Copyrights Protection In accordance with Vietnamese IP Law, the author and copyright holders are defined as (i) Vietnamese organizations and individuals; (ii) foreign organizations and individuals whose works to be protected were
Owners of Chinese patents should take care not to be overly aggressive in asserting their patent rights, especially when dealing with a retailer, dealer, or importer. So long as the patent owner’s conduct falls within normal business practice, a patent owner should not be responsible for the alleged infringer’s economic harm, even if the patent
The Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) recently released its White Paper on Judicial Protection of IPR, 2015 (“中国法院知识产权司法保护状况（2015）, “White Paper”), containing statistics on IP litigation in China. Significantly, the statistics also contain the first conclusive data on the operation of the specialized IP Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, over a year after they started accepting
On 13 April 2016, the Beijing High People’s Court released the Trial Guidelines on Network Related Intellectual Property Right Cases (“Guidelines”). To a large extent, the Guidelines seem to be an attempt to codify the vast – and at times inconsistent – case law in this area by courts across China. The issuance of the
Good design is a lot like clear thinking made visual.” – Edward Tufte Like design aiming at visualizing clear thinking, this newsletter gives you a fascinating overview of the current legal landscape of design law and related areas – providing you an overview of recent case law and new legal developments from around the world. With
Client seminar with guest speaker of the German Centre for Protection Against Unfair Competition (Wettbewerbszentrale – Zentrale zur Bekämpfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs e.V.) On 17 November 2015 a client seminar on recent developments in Unfair Competition Law will take place in the Hamburg office of Hogan Lovells. A director of the German Centre for Protection Against
Given the lower level of government scrutiny and the widespread use of (mobile) internet, online advertising has become very popular in China. However, in the wake of China’s new Advertising Law, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (‘SAIC’) has now turned its attention to the online environment, recently issuing its Draft Interim Measures for
The Regional Court of Karlsruhe decided on 29th July 2015 that the use of the original Hard Rock Cafe logo for the operation and promotion of a bogus restaurant in Heidelberg, Germany, under the identical name and logo of the Hard Rock Cafe group, violates German unfair competition law. The Court found the use of