Region: Denmark

Maritime and Commercial Court considers requirements to establish trademark rights by commencement of use

As the mark at issue was found to have limited distinctive character, a significant marketing effort would have been necessary in order to obtain protection as a trademark.

18 May 2022

Why Scandinavian companies have been quick to adopt NFTs

Vast sums of capital are being poured into IP protection in the NFT space, however, infringement is rife, the legislation is still vague and there is no formal dispute resolution process. The time is ripe for trademark-owning companies to incorporate NFTs into their existing IP and branding strategies.

12 May 2022

Who owns the trademark GYRO for lighting apparatus in Denmark?

At issue in this case was whether use-based trademark rights to GYRO had been established by one party prior to the other party’s registration of the mark, and whether the trademark application had been filed in bad faith.

04 March 2022

Are VITAYUMMY and YUMMI GUMMI confusingly similar?

This dispute between rival companies in the gummy vitamins sector shows the additional flexibility provided by an assessment under the Danish Marketing Practices Act.

13 December 2021

Stricter WHOIS rules come into force in Denmark

While ICANN has relaxed WHOIS information requirements due to perceived issues with the GDPR, Denmark has recently made the consequences of not keeping contact information up-to-date harsher for registrants of ‘.dk’ domain names.

08 September 2021

Community design representing a torch wick holder upheld - but no infringement found

This decision of the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court highlights that defining the ‘informed user’ of a design is crucial in both invalidity and infringement claims.

03 September 2021

Trademark registration not enough to obtain preliminary injunction

This decision of the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court underlines that, in order to obtain a preliminary injunction, rights holders have to act quickly.

22 June 2021

Supreme Court’s ØRSTED decision: protected surnames and trademarks

In a case involving the use of famous scientist HC Ørsted’s name as a trademark by an energy company, the Danish Supreme Court has clarified the interplay between the Names Act on the one hand, and the Trademarks Act and other acts on the other.

08 March 2021

Lego thrives thanks to savvy branding that stays true to core values

The legacy brand is both proactive and reactive in its strategy, ensuring that it stays relevant in a market that is unkind to traditional retailers.

05 February 2021

Appeal court finds no likelihood of confusion between TREK and OUTTREK

This decision of the Danish Eastern High Court underlines the importance of determining the relevant public correctly.

23 November 2020