In 2011 and 2012, Neymar was named best football player in South America. Ever since that moment, NEYMAR trademarks were registered all over the world taking advantage of his success. Not only in Brazil, but also in the EU, Turkey and Morocco trademarks were filed for all kinds of products like clothing, food and drinks. Mostly without the consent of the football player.
A legal battle has been going on for years about the very nice domain name . Gaos has registered this domain name as far back as 1999. Fuelplaza operates petrol stations and has owned the OK logo since 2003. The company uses the domain name online. The domain name is howeverpreferred. First the company attempts to buy the domain name. If this does not work, several lawsuits follow, up to the Dutch Supreme Court. Gaos plans to use the domain name for a social purpose, it claims, but it still has no active website on the URL. Is that allowed?
The annual CTA China Trademark Festival is one of the biggest IP conferences in China with over a 1500 attendees. MARQUES hosted the forum ’Chinese brands go to Europe’ in order to provide guidance on protecting and managing Chinese brands in Europe which was focused on administrative and enforcement procedures. Mirjam de Werd, trademark attorney at Abcor and vice chair of the Marques China Team, was one of the speakers and presented ‘enforcement of Chinese IP right in the EU’.
Many companies register the design of new products in the EU with a Community Design. This allows counterfeiting to be tackled easily and the company maintains a monopoly on this design. However not every design can be claimed just like that. The design must be novel and have its own character (something creative). However, this requirement of novelty applies worldwide and the authorities in the EU do not actively check this. So the applicant should always check first with the design team (or the manufacturer) if the design is actually new. If this is not the case, third parties can easily cancel the rights.
Rock band Guns N' Roses has been an established name for decades. Its popularity hasn't faded, given the 17 million followers on Facebook. The band holds three American trademark registrations GUNS N' ROSES, one of them for clothing. In 2018 the Californian brewery Oskar Blues launches a beer under the name Guns 'N' Rosé, along with all kinds of merchandise, such as caps, stickers, bandanas etcetera. The band objects.
Since 1993, Frito-Lay has been marketing TIJGERNOOTJES (TIGERNUTS); a peanut with a crispy shell. As result of the baking process, the outer dough layer is cracked. therefore, the nut has a varied pattern in the colours orange/brown and yellow. The baking process had been patented, but its protection has now expired. In order to protect the unique look and feel of the product, Frito-Lay has also trademarked the packaging and the nut itself. When the Aldi introduces a very similar looking product under the name GIRAF NOOTJES, a lawsuit follows.
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Een korte introductie tekst over de nieuwsbrief waarin je uitlegt wat het is. Hoe je direct de nieuwste editie kunt lezen en hoe je je kunt abonneren. And click here for all the numbers.
Among others in this issue:
• EUIPO vs Mora TV: weigering geluidsmerk
• Jägermeister vs Alte Heiler: stop Russische copycat
• Stichting Nederlandse Top 40: gericht op Benelux?
• Tijdschrift HART vs Hermitage: soortgelijkheid
• Monique Granneman: nieuwe partner Abcor
