Who wouldn’t want a simple logo for their company that also best embodies the company’s goodwill while being recognised everywhere? adidas is the owner of such a logo. You know, the three stripes. However, adidas has failed in its attempt to extend the three-stripe protection.
Under what conditions can simple figurative signs be protected as trade marks? Even 12,000 pages of evidence of use were insufficient to prove the registrability of an additional adidas three-stripe mark in this important case.
If you enter your brand on amazon, also appears a variety of third-party products. This is what happened when you entered the Ortlieb brand. Is your brand being used to illegally advertise for others?
After a user enters a trade mark into Google’s search engine, they are directed to a results list containing, among other things, an online marketplace on which third parties sell competing products. Does this programming of the online marketplace infringe the trade mark?
Sellers offer counterfeits on your employer’s platform. As a manager of this platform, can you be prosecuted for brand violation?
Are products bearing your brand being sold on the market without your knowledge as to their origin? Consider whether there might be criminal liability for the unauthorised import of branded goods; if unsure, seek specialist advice.
A caterer had the idea of registering ‘grill meister’ [‘grill master’] as a brand for his barbecue and beer products, as well as for his catering. He gave his brand a simple design and as a special feature the registered trademark symbol ®. However, the caterer was very surprised when the Federal Court of Justice certified his trade mark as not only being unable to be protected, but also deceptive.
You have trade marks in various countries of the European Union in your brand portfolio. And you would like to maintain the protection of these trade marks at low cost? A ruling of the European Union Court of Justice now provides the basis for all these options.
The patent of your product has expired. And the trade mark that protected its shape has been cancelled. But don’t give up. You may still be able to claim protection against counterfeiting.
Coca-Cola wanted to extend the protection of its well-known beverage bottle, protected as an EU trade mark, and applied for a simpler bottle shape. Can a three-dimensional shape be registered as an EU trade mark even if it has a common design?