EU

Novagraaf’s Chantal Koller on how businesses can adapt their trademark registration strategies to make best use of the opportunities offered by the EU trademark system.

The General Court of the EU has annulled an earlier ruling that found Louis Vuitton’s ‘Damier Azur’ trademark pattern to be invalid. But, the Court did not yet answer the all-important question of whether the luxury brand's pattern had acquired distinctive character through use.

In 2018, the General Court of the EU ruled that ‘Perfect Bar' was too descriptive and thus insufficiently distinctive to be registered as a trademark, but the brand owner wouldn’t take no for an answer, as Frouke Hekker explains.

In Brompton Bicycles, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that products that are shaped in such a way as to obtain a technical result are eligible for copyright protection. Casper Hemelrijk outlines the implications.

The UK has recently released a Draft UK-EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement which is intended to form the basis for discussions with the EU. Alastair Rawlence outlines the implications for unregistered Community design rights in the EU and supplementary unregistered design rights in the UK.

As a general rule, businesses cannot register generic terms as trademarks when they are directly related to the goods or services being offered. What does that mean for domain names, such as Booking.com?

As of 22 May, France’s PACTE law introduced new requirements to examine inventive step. Eric Enderlin outlines the changes and their implications for patent holders.

Following news that Nestlé has had to rebrand its ‘Incredible Burger' after a Dutch court found the brand name too similar to the 'Impossible Burger’, Chantal Koller sets out the risks of using laudatory terms in brand names.

The Comité Champagne has successfully challenged the attempt by Czech company Breadway to trademark the term ‘Champagnola’ for use on baked goods, as Manon Brodin explains.

A robust anti-counterfeiting strategy is crucial for all brands as the trade in fakes continues to grow. To mark this year's World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, we set out advice on how to get started.

A recent case examined whether a rights holder could enforce a trademark within the registration grace period, even if the right is subsequently revoked for non-use. Laura Morrish sets out the ruling and explains the importance of regular portfolio reviews to ensure valuable marks are in use.

In Gömböc, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has provided some welcome guidance on trademarking designs in the EU.