Distinctiveness of the Marks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilanah Fhima ◽  
Dev S. Gangjee
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Marks ◽  
Likelihood Of Confusion ◽  
European Trade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scope Of Protection ◽  
Practical Level

The role of distinctiveness is perhaps the least understood element of the likelihood of confusion analysis. Obscure in its origins, the idea that the more distinctive a mark is, the more likely confusion should be has been repeatedly accepted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), but this is also strongly criticised by commentators and UK judges in particular. This chapter seeks to understand the role that distinctiveness plays in the assessment of confusion, explaining how it entered the European trade mark system and critically evaluating its role. On a practical level, this chapter seeks to understand the impact of distinctiveness through examples of levels of distinctiveness that have and have not been accepted to result in enhanced protection, and also to consider how tribunals have dealt with the overlap between distinctiveness for registrablity and likelihood of confusion purposes. However, the chapter ends with a note of warning: although it is possible to find a significant number of cases where distinctiveness is employed to enhance the scope of protection trade marks, in the vast majority of cases, this factor is either not mentioned or deemed irrelevant.

38. Relative grounds for refusal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bently ◽  
B. Sherman ◽  
D. Gangjee ◽  
P. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Marks ◽  
Likelihood Of Confusion ◽  
The Uk

This chapter focuses on ‘relative grounds’ for denying an application to register a trade mark as set out in section 5 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 and Article 8 of the European Union Trade Marks Regulation (EUTMR). It identifies ‘earlier trade marks’ and ‘earlier rights’ before turning to the tests which allow a prior mark to oppose the registration of a subsequent one. First, it reviews the so-called double identity ground, where an identical (later) mark is applied for, in the context of identical products. Second, it considers when likelihood of confusion may be established. Third, it surveys three situations referred to collectively as ‘dilution’, where the later mark may mentally evoke the earlier one in a way that is not confusing, yet still wrongful. It also explains the ‘advertising function’ of a trade mark, along with requirements relating to reputation and ‘due cause’. Finally, the chapter discusses relevant provisions governing unregistered trade marks, copyright, design right, and registered design right in the UK.

35. Trade mark registration

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bently ◽  
B. Sherman ◽  
D. Gangjee ◽  
P. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Marks ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Trade Mark Registration ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on the process of registration for trade marks in the UK, the European Union, and other countries. It begins by explaining the differences in procedures and documentation needed in filing trade mark applications at the national, regional, and international levels. The role of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in processing applications in the EU is considered, along with the international filing systems established under the 1891 Madrid Agreement and the 1989 Madrid Protocol. The chapter concludes by presenting possible avenues through which to acquire trade mark protection. It briefly considers the possible impacts of Brexit.

General Court clarifies for the first time the scope of protection of plant variety denominations under Article 7(1)(m) of the European Trade Mark Regulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 748-749
Author(s):  
Stefan Martin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Plant Variety ◽  
European Trade ◽  
First Time ◽  
Scope Of Protection

Abstract Case T-569/18, Kordes' Rose Monique, General Court of the European Union, decision of 18 June 2019, EU:T:2019:421

Trade Marks in Europe and the Court of Justice of the European Union

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Mühlendahl ◽  
Dimitris Botis ◽  
Spyros Maniatis ◽  
Imogen Wiseman
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Marks ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Trade Mark Law

The purpose of this chapter is to offer an introduction on the role of the Court of Justice and its effect on the development of trade mark law in Europe.

INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO EUROPEAN POLICYMAKING: THE ROLE OF IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

2007 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. 141-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENNIFER FRANZ ◽  
COLIN KIRKPATRICK
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Policy Proposals

Since the adoption of the EU's first Sustainable Development Strategy in 2001, the European Commission has been committed to undertaking impact assessments of its major policy proposals, covering the potential positive and negative economic, social and environmental effects both inside and outside the European Union. This paper provides as evaluation of a sample of the Commission's recent EC Impact Assessments, focusing on the extent to which the goal of sustainable development has been integrated into the impact assessment analysis.

Brexit and Private International Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Salibová
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
English Law ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
The Impact

My contribution deals with the issue concerning the question arising on the applicable law in and after the transition period set in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. The aim of this contribution is to analyze how the English and European laws simultaneously influence one another. This analyzation will lead to the prognosis of the impact Brexit will have on the applicable English law before English courts and the courts of the states of the European Union. The main key question is the role of lex fori in English law. Will English law tend to return to common law rules post-Brexit, and prefer the lex fori?

Acquisition Of Rights

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Kur ◽  
Martin Senftleben
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Passing Off ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Trade Mark Law ◽  
European Trade

Under European trade mark law, protection is only acquired through registration (Article 6 EUTMR; Article 1 TMD). Whether the mark is actually used or not is of no relevance at this stage: neither is it a requirement for protection, nor does it grant a substantive right under the European Union Trade Mark Regulation (EUTMR) or the Trade Mark Directive (TMD). However, such protection may follow from national law. Member States are free to grant use-based trade mark protection within their jurisdiction, and in a number of them—Austria, Germany, Italy, the Nordic countries, and, in the form of passing off, the United Kingdom—such protection is available under terms that may differ from country to country. The specificities of the legal regime applying to such signs are independent from the provisions in the TMD.

3. Law-making: authority and process

2019 ◽  
pp. 27-72
Author(s):  
Martin Partington
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Legal Principle ◽  
Legislative Procedure ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Law Making

This chapter considers how law is made in the UK, who makes it, and the constitutional principles which give them the authority for making it and imposing it on society. There is a detailed account of the legislative procedure of the UK Parliament, and the different types of legislation enacted by Parliament. The role of the senior courts in the development of legal principle is also considered. Finally, the law-making functions of key institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe are considered. The impact of Brexit is also considered.

Will the Sparks Fly? The Role of the European Union in the Liberalisation of the Electricity Industry

2000 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 239-277
Author(s):  
Angus Johnston
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Electricity Industry ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Market Opening ◽  
Complex Combination ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
The Impact

The impact of the increasing liberalisation of the energy sector in general and electricity supply in particular is hard to deny. Yet just a few short years ago, such developments were almost unthinkable. A complex combination of factors has led to an increasingly favourable political and economic climate for market opening and competition. However, the benefits of these developments remain distinctly unevenly spread throughout Europe, while the potential difficulties that an unchecked liberalisation process can cause are slowly coming to the fore. The challenge faced by the European Union in this sector is to promote these developments while remaining alive to their potential social and environmental consequences.

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