News & opinion

Fashion brand fails to provide adequate proof of use for the stylised capital D it registered as an EU trademark in 1999. Ardine Siepman examines the decision.

If you build a brand or reputation around your own name, what happens if a third-party owns the trademark registrations to that name, rather than you?

The French government is in conflict with another company over trademarks containing the word ‘France’. Novagraaf’s Ardine Siepman examines a recent ruling by the General Court of the EU, which considered whether anyone could even own the word ‘France’.

A recent spat over a recipe image used on Instagram highlights the importance both of clearing images for use before posting, and of protecting your own images using copyright symbols and watermarks, as Claire Jones explains.

A recent decision by the High Court of England and Wales considered whether fresh evidence was admissible for use on appeal following a successful non-use revocation at the UKIPO. Vanessa Harrow examines the decision and the principles for submitting late evidence.

The European Commission is seeking to make it easier to place generic drugs on the market on expiry of SPC protection. Eric Enderlin outlines the implications.

Novagraaf’s Trecina Surti outlines a recent success story in a dispute brought on behalf of a leading French wine producer. The case highlights the benefits of bad faith claims in opposition proceedings against Michael Gleissner.

It has become common practice in modern advertising for innovation-driven companies to shout about the patent rights protecting their products, including marking products with patent numbers. Doing so also acts as a deterrent to infringers and can increase the likelihood of successfully claiming damages where infringement does occur. However, the practice does not come without risks, as Eric Siecker explains.

Fans of Federer at this year’s Wimbledon may be wondering why he’s no longer sporting the distinctive ‘RF’ logo on his tennis whites. That’s because the trademark is actually owned by his former sponsor Nike. 

Novagraaf’s Florence Chapin examines the recent CJEU preliminary ruling on relabelling and exhaustion of trademark rights.

Holder of CK EU trademark (EUTM) in classes 12, 40 and 42 successfully opposes application to register CK1 in class 12 on the grounds of likelihood of confusion.

European trademarks can be at risk of revocation actions on the basis of non-use (after the five-year grace period has expired). Novagraaf’s Ardine Siepman outlines what is considered ‘genuine use’ and the evidence needed to support such use.