The IPKat BLOG – Page 266

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Crystal Head vodka 3D shape mark invalitiy application: Who you gunna call?!

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/crystal-head-vodka-3d-shape-mark.html Is a skull shaped bottle for vodka devoid of distinctive character and does it substantially enhance the attractiveness of the goods and strongly influence consumer preferences? A recent decision of the Cancellation Division considered the absolute grounds for resual of a 3D shape mark, which offered this Kat the... Continue reading
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Scotch-ing decision leaves a tart taste in Isetan’s mouth

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/scotch-ing-decision-leaves-tart-taste.html The Scotch whisky industry has generated a number of interesting case reports lately. Kat friend Mok Ho Fai now brings for Kat readers the intriguing recent story of the fate of the ISETAN TARTAN mark in Singapore. When the mark “ISETAN TARTAN” is used for whisky that is not... Continue reading
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Hold Your Colour – Cancellation Action against Nivea Blue withdrawn after 11-Year Saga in Germany

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/hold-your-colour-cancellation-action.html One of the many analogies that can be drawn between playing chess and conducting litigation is that, in some situations, one should be prepared to resign (or withdraw a case). In both chess and litigation, this avoids not only wasting valuable time, but also the consequences of losing in... Continue reading
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Common sense prevails in trade mark specification interpretation

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/common-sense-prevails-in-trade-mark.html Legal interpretation is of particular interest to this Kat, so she was intrigued to hear about this case which turned on the correct interpretation of a trade mark specification; the literal vs the “common sense approach”. Here’s what happened. Background to the case Kat AllianceImage: Andy Miccone In January 2011,... Continue reading
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[Guest post] Polish Constitutional Tribunal rules that rightholders can claim damages amounting to twice a hypothetical licence fee in copyright infringement cases

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/guest-post-polish-constitutional.html Damages for copyright infringement: how much can be claimed? In this guest post, Katfriend Bohdan Widła (Barta & Kalinski sp.j.) provides an update on recent developments in Poland. Here’s what Bohdan writes: Polish Constitutional Tribunal rules that rightholders can claim damages amounting to twice a hypothetical licence fee in... Continue reading
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Amsterdam district court orders Google to take offline fake reviews

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/amsterdam-district-court-orders-google.html Last week, the Amsterdam district court issued an interesting decision in which it ordered Google to remove from Google Maps’ review section negative reviews after concluding that they were fake [decision here, in Dutch]. The decision is likely to set an important precedent for future cases involving fake reviews,... Continue reading
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GC excludes likelihood of confusion between marks representing stylized human figure and relating to same goods due to low distinctiveness of shared concept

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/gc-excludes-likelihood-of-confusion.html In an intriguing judgment delivered earlier this month (T-149/19), contrary to the earlier decision of the EUIPO Second Board of Appeal, the General Court (GC) excluded any likelihood of confusion between the two signs represented below, despite sharing the same public and considering the latter’s average level of attention,... Continue reading
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CJEU follows up on Soulier and Doke and rules that presumption of consent of performers in relation to exploitation of recordings is not necessarily contrary to EU law

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/cjeu-follows-up-on-soulier-and-doke-and.html Readers will recall that back in 2015 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided the important Soulier and Doke case [Katposts here], ruling that EU law mandates the recognition of the ‘author principle’, that is the need for the consent – whether express of implied (the... Continue reading
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UCL IBIL Event: Boris v Corbyn v Trump – putting a price on patents, medicine and innovation

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/ucl-ibil-event-boris-v-corbyn-v-trump.html An election is not what the AmeriKat ordered… Next Thursday is Thanksgiving. It is one of the AmeriKat’s favorite holidays: no gifts, no pressure, just food and friends. Although she seldom gets to go home to celebrate it, she makes a point of marking the day. Last year she... Continue reading
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JMLS IP Conference (Report 2): Patent eligibility, anti-anti suits and the era of unpredictability

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/11/jmls-ip-conference-report-2-patent.html State of Patent Law Panel at the JMLS 63rd IP Conference Back in Chicago at the 63rd UIC John Marshall Law School, Kat friend Amy Crouch (Simmons & Simmons, London) was reporting from the “The State of Patent Law & Policy: Views from the Top” session. This session boasted... Continue reading