Sector: Retail

German footwear maker Birkenstock has decided to quit the Amazon marketplace in protest at what it perceives to be a lax approach to counterfeiting on the part of the online retailer.

21 July 2016

Last week, the European Court of Justice confirmed that operators of physical marketplaces could be held liable for the sale of counterfeit and other illicit goods by market traders. While deemed a significant win for IP owners, the decision also demonstrates the effectiveness of joint-party legal actions – with experts telling <i>World Trademark Review</i> that they strongly encourage more precedent-setting collaborations.

13 July 2016

US sports shoes maker New Balance has expressed disappointment with a Chinese court’s decision over ownership of the BAI LUN and XIN BAI LUN (新百伦) marks, with New Balance ordered to pay Rmb5 million in damages. While a blow, the company has told <i>World Trademark Review</i> that it will invite consumers to help it create a new Chinese trademark as part of its branding strategy.

06 July 2016

In <i>El Cortes Ingles v European Union Intellectual Property Office</i> the EU General Court upheld the decision by the Board of Appeal to reject El Cortes Ingles’ opposition to the mark SUPECO. The issue considered in the decision was new as the opposition was made against only some of the products and services.

04 July 2016

01 July 2016

In an April 14 2016 decision a French court of first instance held that Auchan’s Community Trademarks SIMPLY and SIMPLY MARKET were descriptive terms and therefore invalid and rejected Auchan’s unfair competition claim against Marks & Spencer. It also clarified the scope of counterclaims for invalidity.

30 June 2016

In <i>Brill Outlet Eilat Ltd v Big Shopping Centres Limited Partnership</i> Justice Solberg of the Supreme Court affirmed interim relief granted by the district court to the owner of the mark BIG, used and registered for shopping malls, against the recently commenced use of the name Big Outlet for a large fashion outlet store.

20 June 2016

In <i>Re DLMW-BBQ LLC</i> the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has held in a non-precedential decision that the mark BLACK BARK for restaurant services was entitled to registration and reversed the examining attorney’s refusal based on the prior registration of BLACK BARK BRISKET for “meat; prepared meat”.

17 June 2016

In an application to register Trademark 244245 in the name of Booking.com BV, the Israeli Patent and Trademark Office refused registration of the word mark BOOKING.COM, holding that the mark was generic and directly described the applicant’s services, and therefore could not acquire distinctiveness.

16 June 2016

After vanishing from shopping precincts in Australia and New Zealand earlier this month due to bankruptcy, consumer electronics retailer Dick Smith has been reborn as an online-only store thanks to the successful sale of its IP assets. The fall and rise of this household-name brand shows that the open market can present rich opportunities for both those looking to monetise trademark rights and those looking to acquire proven brands. However, there are also significant risks.

01 June 2016