BMW trademarks partially but interestingly enforced
Written by Jean Philippe Bresson Monday, 30 August 2010 09:56
The Court of Appeal of Paris held that the sole use of the word marks BMW and MINI by a formerly authorized car dealer is sufficient for its clients to be well informed as to the vehicles they may interested in purchasing in the context of its reseller activity.
However, the Court pointed out that use of the word and device marks BMW and MINI by that formerly authorized car dealer could not be regarded as a necessary reference escaping from the trademark monopoly. The judge held such use to be trademark infringement especially considering that use of the word mark BMW and MINI above already provided enough information to the customers without needing to add more.
This is quite an interesting decision splitting the trademark monopoly on various levels. This position is of course of interest for the automobile industry but it can apply to any distribution situation when it comes to the enforcement of trademark rights.
No “bug” in a “BUDWEISER” Community proceeding
Written by Olivier Van de Vorst Friday, 27 August 2010 10:01
Here is another long story around Budweiser beer which latest point is a decision of the CJE of July 29 which more particularly enlightens a procedural aspect.
Budvar, a Czech brewery, lodged an opposition against the CTM for “Budweiser” of Anheuser-Busch (AB). The opposition was based on the earlier marks “Budweiser” and “Budweiser Budvar”. AB asked Budvar to show proof that its opposed trademarks had been put into genuine use. Budvar provided evidence of use in compliance with the OHIM deadline for brining any further facts and evidence.
France: eBay liability steps forward
Written by Jean Philippe Bresson Wednesday, 25 August 2010 08:41
On July 20, 2010, the Court of Appeal of Reims confirmed the findings of the First Instance Court which ruled that eBay companies and a seller of fake Hermès bags on www.ebay.fr had infringed the marks of Hermès International.
The Court said that, when the fake Hermès bags sold in 2006 on the auction site, eBay had not set up full and complete information tools enabling eBay users to properly identity items offered for sale and differentiating them from counterfeiting products.
The Court pointed out that a hosting company such as eBay, offering services which aim at taking advantage of the attractive value of stored datas, goes beyond simply hosting, cannot be regarded as neutral and is consequently fully responsible as to the website content.
Google Suggest: complete U-turn of French practice
Written by Jean Philippe Bresson Monday, 23 August 2010 09:33
The Court of First Instance of Paris made a complete U-turn in the French practice with a decision of July 22, 2010 which denied Google’s liability.
Omnium Finance had sued Google France and Google Inc for trademark infringement and harm to its company name because internet users searching for ‘OMNIUM’ or ‘OMNIUM FINANCE’ were given the suggestions ‘Omnium Finance arnaque’ (i.e. ‘Omnium Finance rip-off’) or ‘Omnium Finance escroquerie’ (i.e. ‘Omnium Finance swindle’) by the Google Suggest tool.
French Customs strengthen their position on pharmaceuticals
Written by Jean Philippe Bresson Thursday, 19 August 2010 12:15
The French Pharmaceutical Companies Association (LEEM), representing about 326 companies operating in France in the research and/or development of medicines for human use, has signed a joint declaration with French Customs on June 18, 2010.
New processes of collaboration and of exchange of information result from it. An observatory of medicines has been created which aims to locate places of manufacture and of storage of fake products and more generally to find out relevant information on overall criminal networks.
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