Region: Ireland

IEDR, the Irish domain name registry, has announced that it is proposing to allow for the registration of one and two-character ‘.ie’ domain names. IEDR proposes to release one and two-character domain names for registration in three phases: the sunrise period, the landrush period and general availability. It is running a public consultation period for 30 days, ending on July 9 2015.

07 July 2015

In <I>O’Connell v Scanlon</I>, the hearing officer has rejected an application for a declaration of invalidity of an industrial design representing “a hat with a peak and with a ‘patchwork’ design”. Among other things, the hearing officer found that the informed user would notice the use of three different types of tweed material and their placement on the flat cap.

07 April 2015

In <I>Holyrood Publications Limited v Professional Insurance Brokers Association</I>, the hearing officer has dismissed an opposition by the Professional Insurance Brokers Association against the registration of the mark THE BROKER by Holyrood Publications Limited. Among other things, the hearing officer concluded that the applicant had not applied to register THE BROKER for the sole purpose of blocking use of that term by the opponent.

25 March 2015

In <I>Razneck Limited v Dairyglen Products Limited</I>, the hearing officer has upheld oppositions against the registration of two series of MOOCH marks with regard to certain goods in Class 30 based on the opponent’s SMOOCH mark. Among other things, the hearing officer took into account that the goods were low-value items and that the average consumer would not pay much attention to the purchase of such items.

17 February 2015

In <I>MIP METRO Group v Metro International SA</I>, the hearing officer has partially upheld an opposition by the owner of the figurative mark METRO against the registration of the mark METRO GROUP. Among other things, the hearing officer found that consumers were likely to believe that the trademarks were economically linked when used for advertising services.

22 January 2015

IEDR has announced that it will enable registrars and registrants to submit Domain Name System Security Extensions data, via IEDR's online systems, in the ‘.ie’ domain name space in early 2015. IEDR first deployed DNSSEC in November 2014. The implementation of DNSSEC offers ‘.ie’ domain name holders, their customers and general internet users an additional level of security.

16 January 2015

In <I>HBI Branded Apparel Enterprises LLC v Dunnes Stores Ireland Company</I>, the hearing officer has revoked Dunnes’ registration for the mark BARELY THERE on the ground of non-use. Among other things, the hearing officer held that Dunnes’ argument that turnover figures were “classified business information”, and thus could not be submitted for fear of damaging its business, was “too weak an excuse”.

26 November 2014

In <I>Unilever Plc v Société Des Produits Nestlé SA</I>, the hearing officer has dismissed Nestlé’s opposition against the registration of Unilever’s mark RANDOM ACTS OF HAPPINESS. The hearing officer found that there was no likelihood of confusion between the mark applied for and Nestlé’s marks RANDOMS and LET YOUR RANDOM SIDE OUT.

24 October 2014

In <I>Stone Electrical Limited v British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC</I>, the hearing officer has dismissed Sky’s opposition against the registration of the figurative mark SKYVOLT in Classes 7, 9 and 37 based on its SKY marks. Among other things, the hearing officer held that the level of similarity between the parties’ marks was not sufficient to cause the relevant public to establish a link or connection in trade between the marks.

23 September 2014

In <I>Kimark v Calvin Klein Trademark Trust</I>, the hearing officer has dismissed Calvin Klein’s opposition against the registration of the figurative mark CALINKALIN, finding that there was no likelihood of confusion with the CALVIN KLEIN marks. Among other things, the hearing officer held that, while the average consumer generally has an imperfect recollection of marks, this “does not hold true for extremely well-known marks”.

10 September 2014