News
975 articles
26 April 2015
No textile labelling without ordering option
Under the textile labelling regulation of the European Union, consumers must be informed about the textile fibre composition of clothing and other textiles. The question sometimes arises as to when and where this information must be provided. According to a recent decision, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf) takes the view that this must in any event not yet be done in an advertising brochure without ordering option.
Read more25 April 2015
Bushido continues rapping for gold…!
Does rapper Bushido steal music from other bands? This is precisely the allegation brought by the Gothic band "Dark Sanctuary" that Bushido now faced before the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). The court had to decide whether the short musical excerpts used by the rapper in his song "Goldrapper" constituted a copyright infringement.
Read more24 April 2015
Share Button is not a free pass for the use of third-party works
The use of social media plugins allows users to quickly and easily provide third-party internet content to their own contacts, especially with Facebook's share button and comparable functions on other platforms. The opportunity deliberately given by the author of certain content could lead to the assumption that they consent to the free use of their work, such as […]
Read more23 April 2015
Udo Lindenberg wins copyright dispute!
The Udo Lindenberg musical "Hinterm Horizont" does not infringe copyright. The Kammergericht had to decide whether the libretto to the musical constitutes a so-called non-free adaptation of another independent work capable of copyright protection, and thus a violation of the copyright of a third party.
Read more23 April 2015
No likelihood of confusion between BLACK TRACK and BLACK JACK
The assessment of similarities between two trade marks is the most complex issue that trade mark law has to offer. The decisive categories are visual similarity, phonetic similarity and conceptual similarity. In this context, conceptual factors may in some cases neutralise a similarity that would have to be affirmed on phonetic and/or visual grounds, as the Court of First Instance (EuG) decided in the case BLACK TRACK ./. BLACK […]
Read more21 April 2015
Copyright infringement through electronic reading terminals?
May electronic books be made publicly accessible at electronic reading terminals in libraries without the consent of the copyright holder? The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now decided this copyright law question.
Read more20 April 2015
Advertising for football shoes with third-party testimonials
The conflict between team or association sponsors and individual sponsors is as old as sponsoring itself. While some rely on the power of entire teams, others attempt to put their brand in the right light by engaging individual testimonials. Collisions are thus inevitable. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg had to decide on an interesting case of conflict between Nike and Adidas.
Read more18 April 2015
No change from colour mark to figurative mark in application proceedings
The alteration of the sign or the goods and services list is no longer possible after filing a trade mark application for comprehensible reasons – at least not without loss of the priority of the filing date. However, can the category of the trade mark, that is the type of trade mark, still be altered? On this point, the EuG recently ruled, using the example of a transition from a colour mark to a […]
Read more16 April 2015
Notarized undertaking to refrain from conduct effective?
Does a notarized undertaking to refrain from conduct without a contractual penalty promise eliminate the risk of repetition existing in cases of competition law infringements in the same manner as the provision of a penalty-backed undertaking to refrain from conduct? This question of law, initially answered in the affirmative by the Regional Court (LG) Cologne, has now been decided in the second instance by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Cologne.
Read more14 April 2015
Gambling in a furniture store?
May a furniture store promise its customers a refund of a paid purchase price if it rains on a specific day? This question had to be decided by the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) on referral from the Government President of Karlsruhe (Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe), which took the view that the planned promotional campaign constituted a licensed gambling activity.
Read more09 April 2015
After all? Trade mark infringement through keyword advertising
A commonly held view is that the use of third-party trade marks as keywords for advertisements, e.g. within the scope of Google Adwords, is always and unconditionally permissible. That the higher court decisions supporting this view should be treated with caution is shown by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg in a recent judgment, according to which brand bidding or keyword advertising in certain cases does indeed constitute a trade mark infringement [...]
Read more08 April 2015
Hostess at celebrity party consents to publication of photograph
Disputes over the publication of photographs are generally initiated by celebrities who feel their personality rights have been infringed. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide a somewhat different case: here, a hostess employed at a celebrity party took action against the publication of a photograph on the internet on which she could be seen performing her duties. The […]
Read more07 April 2015
Product imitation by similar pharmaceutical packaging
As decided by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Cologne, the considerable reputation of a pharmaceutical product can result in above-average competitive distinctiveness of the packaging, such that a competitor's merely similar packaging also constitutes unlawful product imitation. This applies regardless of the product designation and the particular sales situation in the pharmaceutical sector.
Read more03 April 2015
The PUMA kills the PUDEL
Parodies of well-known brands are popular, as the cases of Lusthansa (Lufthansa), Adihash (Adidas), Mordoro (Marlboro) and many others demonstrate. Cases in which a registered mark appears, in its overall appearance, to be a parody of another mark are rarer. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now had to decide on such a case to the detriment of Puma.
Read more01 April 2015
No nationwide trademark protection for regional business
In trademark law, the principle applies that business identifiers claim nationwide validity. However, there are exceptions to this when the company operates exclusively at regional level. The Federal Patent Court (BPatG) had to decide on the scope of protection of such a business identifier in the context of an opposition proceedings.
Read more28 March 2015
Claim for 54-fold contractual penalty?
Does the party obliged to cease (Unterlassungsschuldner) owe a multiple contractual penalty to the party entitled to cease (Unterlassungsgläubiger) if he failed to eliminate the multiple infringement he created before signing the cessation declaration? The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe recently decided this question.
Read more24 March 2015
Liability of rating portals
Is an internet rating portal generally liable for assessments made by users? The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has rejected such liability.
Read more23 March 2015
Does 'Coyote Dancers' infringe the mark 'Coyote Ugly'?
In the trade mark dispute arising from an opposition to a trade mark registration at the DPMA, the question at issue was whether the proprietor of the mark 'Coyote Ugly' could prevent the registration of the sign 'Coyote Dancers' upon application for identical goods and services.
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