Region: Denmark

In <i>Board of Appeal for Patents and Trademarks v Danish Association of Pharmacists</i>, the Supreme Court has overruled a decision not to allow the registration of a mark containing the word '<i>apoteket</i>' (pharmacy), which is protected under Danish law. The Supreme Court's decision to allow the registration is expected to have important consequences for protected titles and designations.

01 April 2003

The Danish Internet Forum has been asked by the online legal services provider Retssal.dk to revoke 'jura.dk' ('<i>jura</i>' meaning 'law') on the grounds that the registration is contrary to Danish law, prohibiting the registration of generic terms that are not distinctive. The outcome will have important implications for Denmark's trademark and domain name systems.

27 March 2003

In <i>Løvens Kemiske Fabrik v Orifarm A/S</i>, the Danish Supreme Court has ruled that the defendant's parallel importation and repackaging of the plaintiff's pharmaceutical products was illegal. The decision further limits the extent to which parties can repackage or re-brand parallel-imported goods for resale in Denmark.

20 March 2003

The Maritime and Commercial Court in Copenhagen has clarified the amount of evidence needed to prove use of a registered mark. The court ordered the cancellation of two marks registered by Italian company Max Mara Fashion Group after finding that proof of a few hundred sales to Danish retailers was not enough to maintain the registrations.

26 February 2003

In <i>Burberry Limited v CH International I/S</i>, a Danish Internet Forum panel has ordered the transfer of the domain name 'burberry.dk' to the UK fashion company Burberry Limited. The panel found that the domain name registrant, CH International, had registered and used the name in contravention of the Danish Trademark Act.

15 January 2003

The Maritime and Commercial Court has ruled that the single use of the trademark CARMEN constitutes 'genuine use' for the purposes of Article 25 of the Danish Trademarks Act. As a result, the mark cannot be struck off the register for not being used extensively.

04 December 2002

The Complaints Board for Domain Names for the '.dk' domain has ruled in favour of two internet giants, eBay and Google. Applying a test similar to that found in ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, the board found evidence of bad faith and ordered that the names be transferred.

30 August 2002

The Danish international toy chain Top-Toy A/S BR has won a case in the Danish Commercial and Maritime Court against IT company Icom Data ApS regarding the domain name 'br.dk'. Although the domain name had never been used, BR was found to have an exclusive right to it, so its transfer was ordered.

25 July 2002

The Danish Internet Forum, which administers the '.dk' domain, has adopted a new set of rules on the registration of country-code top-level domain names. Among other things, the rules provide for a waiting list for desired names and the use of Danish characters.

02 July 2002

Two recent instances of cybersquatting have been dealt with by Denmark's Complaints Board and the Copenhagen Maritime and Commercial Court. One of the decisions involved the trademark ROLEX.

17 July 2001