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In February 2011, the High Court ruled that two European Community Trade Marks for the “32RED” word and a figurative trade mark comprising “32” and “red” had been infringed by “32Vegas”...
Customs officials cannot seize counterfeit goods that are merely in transit in the EU and not intended for sale in the EU – Philips v Lucheng and Nokia v HMRC, European Court of Justice
Counterfeit goods that are in the European Union purely because they are in transit between non-EU countries cannot be seized by customs authorities, according to a ruling of the European Court of Justice....
Advertising laws for the Olympics come into force
The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Advertising and Trading) (England) Regulations 2011 have come into force to combat the exploitation of the Olympic and Paralympic brands in London in 2012....
“The Patent Cliff – Lipitor goes over the Edge”
As the largest ever number of patents protecting the pharmaceutical industry’s most profitable “blockbuster” drugs are set to expire, for India and China it’s going to be a very merry Christmas...
Murky trade mark mess as German Merck takes action against Facebook for US Merck use of Facebook page
Merck KGaA has applied for a court order to receive information from Facebook after the German drugs giant claims to have discovered that the social networking site had allegedly allowed its American pharmaceutical...
Angler shows folly as trade mark angles for a victory in trade mark infringement case – Fox International v Folly, Patents County Court
Fox had a European Community Trade Mark for “STALKER” in respect of fishing equipment. Folly sold fishing equipment on the Internet under the name “STALKER” but replacing the “T” with a picture...
ASA bans perfume advert because it could “sexualise a child”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advert for ‘Oh Lola!’ perfume, manufactured by Coty UK, featuring the 17-year-old actress Dakota Fanning. The advert featured the actress in...
ITV told to mind the law, and be careful talking about it
Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has ruled that ITV breached the BCAP Code when interviewing the actress Amanda Holden on morning television. The Code specifies what broadcasters can and cannot...
US website loses battle for passing off as reputation amongst UK users not enough to establish goodwill if it does not have customers – Plentyoffish Media v Plenty More, High Court
The operator of a US dating website, Plentyoffish, opposed an application by Plenty More, a UK dating website, to register a figurative trade mark using the words “plenty more fish”. Plentyoffish argued...
Government changes Olympics ambush marketing rules to ban adverts on human bodies, but permits adverts being sent to mobile devices
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has listened to response in a consultation on its proposed London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Advertising and Trading) Regulations. Accordingly, it has...