News
975 articles
04 October 2011
Contract manufacturing for pharmaceuticals and medical devices
ECCLESIA mildenberger HOSPITAL GmbH invited selected business partners to its annual university seminar on 22.09.2011. This year's event had the theme "Crisis Management – Medical Liability – Safety Models" and took place at the Hilton Hotel Bremen.
Read more04 October 2011
Claim for injunctive relief by Christo against photo agency?
The Regional Court (LG) Berlin had to deal with the legal issue of whether the artist couple Christo & Jeanne-Claude could demand from an image agency the cessation of use of photographs which, while depicting their works, were taken by third parties.
Read more14 September 2011
FICKEN is socially acceptable – trademark for beverages not contrary to public policy
The Federal Patent Court (BPatG) decided by order dated 03.08.2011 – 26 W (pat) 116/10 – that the trademark "FICKEN" registered by the appellant for clothing and beverages (Nice classes 25, 32 and 33) is not contrary to public policy, contrary to the opinion of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), and is therefore to be entered in the trade mark register.
Read more07 September 2011
120 cease-and-desist letters in 19 days – an abuse of rights?
The Kammergericht Berlin had to decide on the abusiveness of a cease-and-desist letter, in which the sender, despite only negligible business activity of its own, had sent mass costly cease-and-desist letters to alleged competitors.
Read more01 September 2011
Advertising for pharmaceutical products on the Internet permitted?
The Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) was referred a case by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of an EU regulation. In this case, the European Court of Justice had to decide whether pharmaceutical manufacturers are permitted to advertise their products on the Internet.
Read more30 August 2011
No talking, just DO IT?
Comedian Mario Barth defended himself before the Regional Court (LG) Düsseldorf against the use of the slogan "No talking, just DO IT!". Like with the slogan "Nothing rhymes with Uschi", he is of the opinion that he has the right to prohibit the commercial use of these catchphrases.
Read more29 August 2011
Restaurant review in restaurant guide contrary to competition law?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Cologne had to decide whether a restaurant critic may publish a negative review of a restaurant tested by them in the context of a restaurant guide, or whether this would give rise to a cease-and-desist claim by the restaurant operator.
Read more05 August 2011
Recoverability of pre-litigation patent attorney costs
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided in its judgment of 24.02.2011 (I ZR 181/09) that the question of whether costs incurred in pre-litigation cease-and-desist proceedings due to a trade mark infringement for engaging a patent attorney are recoverable is not governed by § 140 Abs. 3 MarkenG. Rather, in the context of the cease-and-desist letter, the decisive factor is whether the consultation of the patent attorney [...]
Read more19 July 2011
Injunction against imitation of illuminated paving stones?
In the present case, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a.M. had to decide whether a manufacturer of lighting fixtures could prohibit its competitor, from a competition law perspective, from also distributing LED-illuminated paving stones.
Read more13 July 2011
Copyright protection for product descriptions on the Internet?
The Regional Court (LG) Hamburg had to decide, in the context of an application for a preliminary injunction, whether product descriptions of the services offered copied from a competitor's website and their use on the applicant's own webpage must be discontinued due to infringement of copyright.
Read more04 July 2011
Injunction against a blog operator – statement of a blogger?
The demarcation between free expressions of opinion and insulting statements is often blurred. In the present case, the Regional Court (LG) Berlin had to decide a case in preliminary injunction proceedings in which a blogger had made statements on an internet forum, claiming that another person was, among other things, an 'asocial informer'.
Read more22 June 2011
Trademark Distinctiveness through Domain in Company Name?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a.M. had to decide the trademark law question of whether the addition of a top-level domain renders registrable a trademark that is otherwise not registrable due to lack of distinctiveness.
Read more22 June 2011
EUR 280,000 amount in dispute for trademark infringement via domain?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) had to decide in the course of a dispute value appeal procedure whether this amount of EUR 280,000.00 was justified in a trademark-related domain dispute.
Read more15 June 2011
Cease-and-desist counterclaim for set-off of cease-and-desist costs unlawful?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm was called upon to review a judgment of the Regional Court (LG) Bochum concerning competitive infringements through the use of invalid general terms and conditions and the unlawfulness of a cease-and-desist counterclaim, which threatened a set-off of cease-and-desist costs.
Read more09 June 2011
No damages liability for cancelled eBay auction
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe decided by judgment dated 08.06.2011 (VIII ZR 305/10) that a seller on eBay owes no damages to the current highest bidder if the seller cancels the auction for good cause before the official conclusion. In this case, no purchase contract exists between the parties, the non-performance of which could form the basis of a damages claim.
Read more09 June 2011
No procedural costs in case of unreasonable file-sharing warning
According to a judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (OLG Köln) dated 20.05.2011, an audiobook publisher that makes excessively broad demands in a warning letter to a private individual and simultaneously incorrectly indicates that a limitation of the requested declaration would result in its ineffectiveness has no claim to reimbursement of costs.
Read more08 June 2011
Right of withdrawal at eBay is regularly one month
Surprising news is to be heard from the Regional Court (LG) Dortmund: according to an order dated 07.04.2011 (20 O 19/11), the court is of the opinion that the circumstances of contract conclusion in eBay offers would regularly result in the right of withdrawal being not 14 days but one month even after the most recent legislative amendment. Since this is a summary decision without reasons, the exact grounds for this remain […]
Read more08 June 2011
Is advertising for counterfeit branded perfume anticompetitive?
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide whether trading in branded perfume imitations constitutes unlawful comparative advertising that must cease, where no clear and unambiguous imitation claim is made, but merely associations with the originals are evoked.
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