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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....
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...
IPO gives Cadbury sweet victory by allowing it to register purple mark
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has allowed Cadbury, the chocolate manufacturer, to register a specific shade of purple as a UK trade mark for chocolate-based products. Cadbury’s application had...
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...
OHIM and European Union General Court should have considered whether wine bottle was distinctive enough for trade mark protection – Freixenet SA v OHIM, European Court of Justice
Freixenet applied to register the features of a wine bottle as a European Community Trade Mark. In particular, it claimed the colour “golden matt” and described the trade mark as a “white polished...
ECJ says ban on Internet sales took selective distribution system outside of block exemption protection in EU competition law – Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmetique v French Competition Board, European Court of Justice
PFDC makes and markets cosmetics and personal care products under certain brands. It requires sales to be made in a physical space in the presence of a qualified pharmacist. The French Competition Board...