Region: Finland

WTR asked a range of trademark professionals, industry representatives and legal specialists to highlight the issues that they felt were most significant in 2011, either in their respective jurisdiction or internationally, and what they anticipate will be the major developments in 2012

20 December 2011

The Finnish Market Court has held that Servaali Oy's advertisements for its alcoholic products were untruthful and misleading under the Unfair Business Practices Act. Among other things, the court held that Servaali's use of the term 'Pommac brandy' diluted Oy Hartwall Ab's trademark POMMAC and was in breach of Regulation 1576/89 on spirit drinks.

30 November 2010

A working group appointed by the Ministry of Justice has handed down its report on the centralization of IP matters. The centralization aims mainly to reduce the length of IP-related proceedings and improve the quality of the decisions. Among other things, decisions of the National Board of Patents and Registration will be appealed to the Market Court, instead of the Board of Appeal.

26 April 2010

A committee set up by the Finnish Ministry of Justice has been charged with the task of preparing a proposal for transferring all IP disputes to the Market Court. The main goal of the proposal is to ensure that the judges making decisions in IP cases have sufficient expertise in that field.

16 October 2009

The Supreme Court of Finland has refused leave to appeal in a dispute over the trademark AKUN TEHDAS. Among other things, the Helsinki Court of Appeal had held that use of the unregistered mark AKUN TEHDAS by the plaintiff for music-related services was sufficient to invalidate the respondent's AKUN TEHDAS mark for all the goods and services covered.

21 July 2009

The new fees of the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland for trademark and design rights have come into force. Most of the official fees have been increased and the price lists of the board have been restructured in some respects. In addition, a charge for filing an opposition against a trademark registration has been introduced.

06 February 2009

The Finnish Supreme Court has issued its first decision on design rights since the new Registered Designs Act came into force on August 1 2002. Among other things, the court held that the ICEY non-slip device for shoes was not an independent creation and thus infringed Devisys Oy's registered design.

28 March 2008

Since August 15 2007 owners of marks with a reputation may apply to the Finnish National Board of Patents and Registration to register their marks onto a list that will be checked against new trademark applications. Mark owners will be notified when a new application is similar to their mark, leaving them to decide what action to take, if any.

10 September 2007

In <i>adidas International Marketing BV v Intermar Simanto Nahmias</i>, the District Court of Helsinki has held that the defendant's figurative mark JUMP was confusingly similar with the plaintiff's well-known three-stripe figurative mark. Among other things, the court concluded that the European Court of Justice's ruling in the case of <i>Montex Holdings Ltd v Diesel SpA</i> did not apply as the goods at issue were not destined for the EU market.

29 May 2007

Finnish Customs launched an extensive consumer information campaign against counterfeit and pirated goods to coincide with International Customs Day on January 26 2007. The theme of the International Customs Day this year was the battle against counterfeit goods and other IP rights violations. The fight against counterfeiting is now among the highest priorities of the European Union and the World Customs Organization.

16 March 2007