[ RUBIK’s Cube Judgment ]

New post on current judgments in terms of Industrial and Intellectual Property.
TURNING RUBIK’s CUBE OVER by Eva del Valle. 

Nowadays, without any doubt, a product shape is becoming one of the main reasons that the consumer has in mind when making a shopping decision.  And it is because of that, that the companies are considering the possibility of registering three-dimensional trademarks consisting of the products shape. However, the protection of this kind of trademarks has always been a controversial matter.

One of the problems of three-dimensional trademarks is the possibility of falling into some of the absolute grounds for refusal… Read Full Post (only in  Spanish)

Judgment of the General Court of 15 December 2016. Case T-112/13. Mondelez UK Holdings & Services, Ltd vs EUIPO/Société des Produits Nestlé, S.A.

Subject: European Union Trademark. Nullity reasons art. 7.1.b, c, d, e. ii) of the Regulation No. 207/2009

Summary: Nestlé filed a three-dimensional EUTM corresponding to the “Kit Kat 4 bars” product. This trademark was granted for “Sweets; bakery products, pastries, biscuits; cakes, waffles”. Later, Cadbury Schweppes (currently Mondelez) filed a nullity action against this registration.

Now, the GC reminds that the proof of genuine use in a subcategory of products only involves protection for it. As a consequence, it is established that none of the proofs of use taken into account by the EUIPO proof the trademark use for bakery products, pastries, biscuits and waffles. It is also reminded that the proof of the distinctive character acquired by the use must be lodged in respect of all the affected Member States.

[ MAHOU vs EN MAREA ]

MAHOU feels damaged by the similarity of their image with the logo used by En Marea.

The MAHOU legal services filed before the Galician Parliament a writ addressed to the parliamentary group En Marea, concerning the great similarity that this parliamentary group image has with the beer company logo. However, the parliamentary group, although they recognize that there can exist a certain similarity between both logos, consider that there is no conflict between the trademarks, their applicative fields are different.

*Source (in Spanish): El Mundo / *Image: Mahou Logo and En Marea Logo

Michael Jordan, after four years in Courts, achieves that the Chinese Supreme Court bans a local Company using the NBA player’s surname in Chinese characters. 

A local sports clothing trademark was using Jordan’s name without his consent. The Supreme Court revokes the previous judgments issued by other lower courts that considered the American surname Jordan as very common and that with a logo it was difficult to identify a concrete person. Now, the Supreme Court recognizes that Jordan has the legal rights over the Chinese characters equaling his name in Mandarin.

*Source (in Spanish): El Mundo

The famous and renown German company Mast- Jägermeister SE, has filed an opposition in the US against the logo of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, as they considered that there was a great similarity between the signs, as they both show a forward-looking deer inside a circle, and the only differences -the more aggressive look of the Bucks deer and the cross above the head in Jägermeister’s- are not enough to consider that there is no likelihood of confusion among the relevant consumers.

Although it was communicated that the Bucks and the liquor company have been trying to solve this matter amicably, the German company did not want to forego this matter by filing formal opposition to publicly defend their intellectual property.

*Source (in Spanish): nbamaniacs.com

International Trademarks such as LLADRÓ, SHA and CHIE MIHARA analyze the luxury sector trends together with national referent associations like ANDEMA and CÍRCULO FORTUNY.

Last 10 November more than a hundred leading entrepreneurs and experts brought together in a seminar with the participation of the National Association for the Trademark Defense – ANDEMA, Círculo Fortuny, CHIE MIHARA, SHA and LLADRÓ. All of them insisted that a great trademark is built from the effort and coherence with the company values, and also coincided tat their products or services design has been essential to position their trademark at excelence levles. Read more (in Spanish).

*Diario Información (in Spanish): http://www.diarioinformacion.com/economia/2016/11/11/diseno-marca-claves-posicionamiento-empresas/1826737.html
*Alicante Plaza (in Spanish): http://alicanteplaza.es/el-reto-del-sector-del-lujo-trasladar-las-sensaciones-al-mundo-digital
 

PADIMA among one of the selected companies for the informative project of the three formats of the Publisher Prensa Ibérica: Diario Información, Información.es and Información TV.

PADIMA has been part in the initiative carried out by the three formats of the publisher Prensa Ibérica in Alicante: Diario Información, Información.es and Información TV.

A project that started on November to place value on the most important companies of the Alicante province. Companies that stand out due to their contribution to the economy, that show daily their good work and that promote the Alicante province worldwide by their international work.

We are sharing the interview by Víctor Manuel Romero to Eva Toledo, responsible of the Strategy & Protectoin Area of PADIMA, and Iván Sempere, partner and Legal Area Director of PADIMA, that Diario Información has published in their Sunday edition of 20 November.

Read Special PDF PADIMA Diario Información

#padimaprotects