Region: Finland

The above-listed national statutes also implement the relevant EU directives. EU regulations apply directly.

18 September 2015

The Market Court has issued a decision in a case concerning the protection of trademark rights in a 'snow camouflage' pattern. Among other things, the court found that the plaintiff's use of the pattern had not been consistent and that the evidence did not sufficiently show that the pattern was used as an indicator of the origin of the goods.

25 March 2015

The Market Court has upheld a decision of the Trademark Office in which the latter had held that the mark RENGAS365 (meaning 'Tyre365') lacked distinctiveness. Among other things, the court held that, when used together with the word '<I>rengas</I>' (‘tyre’), the number 365 described the fact that “the goods or services are usable or available all year round”.

03 July 2014

The Market Court has overturned the Trademark Office’s refusal to register the mark SAINT TROPEZ for goods and services in Classes 18, 25 and 35 on the ground that it was geographically misleading. Among other things, the court held that the mark, used in connection with the goods and services at issue, would not be perceived as an indication of geographical origin.

28 February 2014

The Supreme Administrative Court has upheld an appeal against a decision of the Board of Appeals of the Trademark Office in which the latter had refused to register the mark TEEMME SEN MAHDOLLISEKSI (‘we make it possible’) in Classes 35 and 38 on the ground that the mark lacked distinctiveness. The court, referring to the case law of the ECJ with regard to promotional slogans, confirmed that slogans must be treated in the same way as other types of trademarks.

10 December 2013

The Supreme Administrative Court has held that the shape of the Carneval biscuit could be registered as a 3D trademark, as it had acquired distinctiveness due to its longstanding and extensive use. The decision also dealt with the assessment of survey evidence concerning distinctiveness acquired after the application date.

01 October 2013

The Supreme Court has refused leave to appeal a decision of the Helsinki Court of Appeal in which the latter had found that several shoe models bearing four stripes infringed adidas’ well-known three-stripe mark. The Court of Appeal had awarded adidas €22,050 in compensation based on a 6% licence fee on the retail price of the shoes, as well as €50,000 in additional damages due to the extensive reputation of adidas’ mark and the extent of the infringement.

29 January 2013

A recent article published by FICORA, the organisation responsible for the administration of ‘.fi’ domain names, highlights a continuing lack of awareness with regard to DNSSEC. The article indicates that, of the more than 300,000 ‘.fi’ domain names currently registered, only 63 are protected by DNSSEC.

07 December 2012

FICORA, the Finnish registry, has announced that it was examining "hundreds of deliberately misspelled ‘.fi’ domain names" covering Finnish companies and services, which were registered to a Finnish registrant via a Maltese registrar. It is very rare for a registry to intervene in this manner, seemingly upon its own initiative.

06 July 2012

In <i>Environmental Manufacturing LLP v OHIM</i>, which concerned a wolf’s head logo, the General Court has reinterpreted the landmark <i>INTEL</i> decision on detriment to the distinctive character of a reputed mark. The decision circumvents the extremely problematic requirement set out in <i>INTEL</i> to show detriment by means of a change in the economic behaviour of the average consumer of the earlier mark consequent on use of the later mark.

01 June 2012