In its decision of 10 January 2019, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Board of Appeal found that there was a likelihood of confusion between the applied EU trademark (EUTM) “OTTOSUN” and the…
In a recent case, the European General Court (EGC) touched upon several hot potatoes: one-letter marks, acquired distinctiveness and the difference between an identical and a similar good and service.Background of…
An Italian decision from March 2016 clarified the scope of protection for shape marks when it comes to jewelry, where a minor design change makes all the difference. The judge confirmed that even the smaller…
Given the notoriety of McDonald´s and their products, it is hard to imagine anyone would challenge their entitlement to the “Mac” and “Mc” prefixes. However, it was only recently that the European General Court…
The recent case the General Court of the European Union (the EGC) had to resolve was a great example of the correlation of conceptual similarity and public confusion. What conceptual similarity entails and how…
After the European General Court’s (EGC) ruling on September 2015, the battle of the reptiles continues in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). As Lacoste protects their famous crocodile…
The General Court (EGC) held that as the marks were phonetically identical and visually and conceptually similar they should be regarded as similar overall. Followed from this it was held that the mark at issue…
The German Federal Court of Justice ruled on two aspects of trade mark law in its recent decision. The conclusion of the Court was, firstly, that a mark which is registered in black and white is not identical with…
The European General Court (EGC) dissmissed the appeal of the Swatch AG against the Community Trademark (CTM) application “SWATCHBALL“ by Panvision Europe Ltd (Judgment dated 19 May 2015; Case No.: T‑71/14).
Bac…
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The General Court of the European Union (EGC) decided that that a likelihood of confusion between the word/device mark “Master” of Modern Industrial & Trading Investment Co. Ltd and the earlier trademark “Coca…
The German Federal Patent Court clarified with its judgment (Judgment dated 5 August 2014; Case No.: 27 W (pat) 18/14) in the case “BOSCH” vs. “boshi” that likelihood of confusion is only given if various factors…
The German Federal Patent Court (BPatG) decided on 8 April 2014, that the word/design mark “München – in Bayern” cannot be registered because there is likelihood of confusion to the older word/design mark “FC…