Judge appreciates the right blend in whisky trade mark case
Whyte and Mackay Ltd v Origin Wine UK Ltd, High Court With whisky, it’s all about getting the right blend. And so it is the case with composite trade marks. In this case, Whyte and Mackay persuaded the...
View ArticleGO WALKING and GO RUNNING trade mark applications go wrong
Go Outdoors Ltd v Skechers USA Inc II, High Court Go Outdoors had applied to register trade marks for GO WALKING and GO RUNNING. It had used the marks for many years in signage, marketing literature...
View ArticleCJEU rules copyright owner can take infringement action against advertiser...
Labianca v Knoll International SpA, Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a business which advertised copyright works without permission of...
View ArticleChina goes after counterfeiters
China has laid down the gauntlet for counterfeiters: carry on at your peril! It has launched an enforcement campaign that is running for the second half of this year under which it will hold online...
View ArticleGovernment’s introduction of private copying exception not lawful, rules the...
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors v BIS, High Court For many years, music-lovers who legitimately bought music (or other entertainment) and made another copy on another format...
View ArticleLego builds further brick in trade mark portfolio with EU General Court win
Best-Lock (Europe) Ltd v OHIM, EU General Court The European Union General Court has upheld a decision by OHIM to throw out two applications to have Lego’s registered Community Trade Marks declared...
View ArticleHigh Court knocks Canary Wharf down in trade mark claim
Canary Wharf Group Plc v The Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, High Court CWG – the owner of 14 million square feet of office and retail space in the Canary Wharf Estate – has...
View ArticleGenuine use of Community Trade Mark needs to show use in more than one Member...
The Sofa Workshop v Sofaworks, High Court Sofa Workshop registered European Community Trade Marks of that name from 1996, covering various furniture, textiles and homeware accessories and had evidence...
View ArticleCyber battle ends in favour of Disney as it wrestles rights to Star Wars UK...
After 10 years of holding onto the domain name “starwars.co.uk”, the Berkshire-based fancy dress shop owner Abscissa has been forced to surrender the ownership to the stronger forces of the Walt Disney...
View ArticleMusic hits wrong note over battle of the ukulele trade marks
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain v Clausen, High Court Something as nice as playing music went wrong here, as two competing music groups fell out and ended up in court. The Ukulele Orchestra of...
View ArticleEuropean Parliament gives green light for people to capture images of...
The European Parliament has rejected proposals to punish those who capture images of copyrighted buildings and artworks without seeking permission from the copyright owner. As a result, most tourists...
View ArticleNew copyright licensing hub body launched
PRS for Music (the UK’s collecting body that licenses organisations to play, perform or make available copyright music), together with STIM and GEMA (their Swedish and German equivalents), have signed...
View ArticleGovernment consults on increasing online penalty for copyright infringement...
The Government is consulting on plans to increase the maximum custodial sentence for copyright infringement carried out online from two years to 10 years. This would bring the penalty in line with the...
View ArticleCommissioner took equitable ownership of copyright in designed logos even...
Atelier Eight Two Ltd v Kilnworx Climbing Centre CIC, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Kilnworx ran a climbing centre and commissioned a design company to create some logos. This was actually...
View ArticleThe Unitary Patent Package edges closer
The move towards a European Unitary Patent Package progresses slowly. The UK Intellectual Property Office has recently announced that the preparations for the UK’s ratification of the Unified Patent...
View ArticleAnti-piracy police attain dramatic drop in advertising on copyright...
The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit has reported a 73% fall in advertising from the UK’s top ad spending organisations on copyright infringing websites since it started a...
View ArticleNightclub owner gets 28 day suspended sentence for playing music without...
Phonographic Performance Ltd v Fletcher, High Court The High Court has ruled that a nightclub owner should receive a 28 day prison sentence for failing to have an appropriate licence and pay the...
View ArticleAll Nestlé wants is to have a break in Kit Kat shape trade mark case
Société des Produits Nestlé SA v Cadbury UK, European Court of Justice It is not all sweetness in the confectionery industry as chocolate manufacturing heavyweights, Nestlé and Cadbury, have continued...
View ArticleLuxury handbag dispute at 10 paces as Yves Saint Laurent prevails in long...
H&M Hennes & Mauritz BV & Co. KG v OHIM, General Court of the European Union Yves Saint Laurent has prevailed in a longstanding battle with H&M, the retailer, over a dispute for...
View ArticleNot so good for chocolate trade mark
August Storck AG v OHIM, EU General Court Hot on the heels of Nestlé’s trade mark battle with Cadbury over protecting the shape of its Kit Kat bars, another chocolate trade mark case has made its way...
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