Sector: Retail

In <i>Discount Drugstores Pty Ltd v Registrar of Trademarks</i> Discount Drugstores has succeeded in its appeal to the Federal Court of Australia concerning the registrability of the colours purple and orange in relation to pharmacy services. The case is unusual both in the way it was decided and the broad scope of protection afforded to the company.

31 May 2016

29 April 2016

In <i>Verkkokauppa.com v Veneilijänverkkokauppa.com</i> the Supreme Court has quashed two lower-court decisions, ruling in favour of the owner of Finnish trademark Verkkokauppa.com. The action was based on the 2004 registered word trademark covering "retail and e-commerce" in Class 35.

20 April 2016

The Indonesian Supreme Court hit the headlines back in February for upholding a decision to strip Swedish retailer Ikea of several trademarks after it fell foul of non-use rules. While the event will likely have exacerbated brand owners’ apprehensions about doing business in the country, the introduction of new regulations addressing the recording of licence agreements could boost their confidence in the trademark system

12 April 2016

The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market Opposition Division has upheld an opposition that there was a risk that The Body Shop International's use of the term SPA WISDOM would take unfair advantage of the distinctive character or repute of the Benelux trademark SPA. Its decision was confirmed by the Fourth Board of Appeal.

12 April 2016

A recent decision provides further support to the case law maintaining that a trademark can perform a distinctive function while also being perceived by consumers as a decorative element.

08 April 2016

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an enforcement policy statement in January that clarified its stance on deceptively formatted advertisements. As we noted at the time, what will be important going forward is how the organisation tackles subsequent enforcement actions. This month the FTC shed some light onto its approach, in particular in the social media environment.

29 March 2016

Last week we reported in some detail on the Supreme Court decision in a dispute between Magmatic, creator of the Trunki ride-on suitcase, and PMS International Group, which produces Kiddee case luggage. While initially described as a blow to the UK design industry, a number of leading commentators have responded to the negativity, arguing that the decision provides a very useful real-life example of how far registered design rights extend.

14 March 2016

US company eBay Inc has successfully opposed the registration of E-MARKET E-BAY HELLAS because of its similarity to its own EBAY marks.

09 March 2016

A recent Supreme Court decision cancelling some of IKEA’s trademarks on the grounds of non-use means that any three-year period of non-use potentially makes trademarks vulnerable and subsequent use does not rectify this. A harsh judgment, perhaps, but one which is within the interpretation of the law.

02 March 2016