INDUSTRIAL DESIGN. PROCEEDING STAGE TO CHOOSE THE METHOD FOR CALCULATING DAMAGES

Although the time for declaring the criterion selected for quantifying damages may be deferred to the allegations stage, it cannot by any means jeopardize the rights to claim, defense, and submission of evidence corresponding to the other party to the proceeding. The selected criterion must be declared in a manner that is not confusing but rather, in contrast, in a manner that is obvious and at a stage of the proceeding in which the other party may not only use evidence, but also draw up the…


El titular de una marca cuya infracción ha sido declarada en un proceso judicial, puede promover un segundo proceso para que el infractor entregue toda la información sobre la red de distribución de los productos.

Article 8.1 of Directive 2004/48. Judgement of the Court of Justice (Ninth Chamber), 18 January 2017, in Case C-427/15 NEW WAVE CZ, a.s. & ALLTOYS, spol. s.r.o. Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic submitted in proceedings between NEW WAVE CZ, a.s. & ALLTOYS, spol. S.r.o. NEW WAVE filed a first claim against ALLTOYS for having used the mark MegaBabe without their consent when offering their goods. In this first proceeding, the Czech Court…


Unfair Competition. Misleading Advertising.

Supreme Court Judgment of 11 July 2018 The claim leading to the lawsuit between two undertakings in the tool sector suggests the existence of acts of deception consisting of the press release issued by Bellota, one of two undertakings in the case, claiming that it was the first undertaking in the sector to obtain the “Q de oro” award. The plaintiff was part of the same sector as the defendant, which had earned such award before the plaintiff, even though its activity was not manufacture per se…


Is a trade mark proprietor entitled to oppose the removal by a third party of all the signs identical to that trade mark and the affixing of new signs on goods identical to those for which the trade mark has been registered with a view to importing or placing them on the market in the European Economic Area (EEA)?

Judgment of the ECJ of 25 July 2018 (Mitsubishi v. Duma and GSI, case C‑129/17) ECLI:EU:C:2018:594 Background: Mitsubishi, established in Japan, is the proprietor of a number of trade marks, including the EU word mark MITSUBISHI, for, inter alia, goods in Class 12 of the Nice Agreement, including motor vehicles, electric vehicles, and forklift trucks. MCFE, established in the Netherlands, is exclusively authorized to manufacture and place on the market in the EEA forklift trucks supplied under…


C3 SYSTEMS Case. Action for unfair competition. Revocation due to inconsistency.

SAP Alicante of 1 February 2018 (ECLI: ES: APA:2018:489) The company C3 Systems S.L. brought an action against the trading company Vejuma on the grounds of infringement of its EU trade mark and Spanish trade mark, and, in addition, an action for the declaration and the cease of acts of unfair competition. The factual grounds for both the action for trade mark infraction and the action for unfair competition consisted of the use by the defendant of the Seeglass and C3 Systems trade marks in the…


The imprescriptible character of an action for absolute invalidity on the grounds of a trade mark registered in bad faith

Supreme Court Ruling of 6 June 2018 (ECLI:ES:TS:2018:6050A) The enterprise Confecciones Córdoba registered Spanish trade marks no. 2858007 and no. 2774328, “Pedro Morago,” for clothing and footwear. Luis Manuel filed a claim requesting the absolute invalidity of the registration of said trade marks as they were registered in bad faith. Both the judgment of the lower court and the judgment of the Court of Appeal allowed the claim and declared the trade marks registered by Confecciones Córdoba to…


Damages calculation for trade mark infringement in Spain

Cristina Hernández Marti Pérez has recently published a book on damages calculation for trade mark infringement in Spain. The book has been published by Tirant Lo Blanch and is currently just available in Spanish. https://www.tirant.com/editorial/libro/la-determinacion-de-los-danos-y-perjuicios-en-materia-de-marcas-cristina-hernandez-marti-perez-9788491902058


What is required for a database to be granted copyright protection?

Judgment No. 23/2018 of the Provincial Court Of Barcelona of 19 January (ECLI: ES: APB:2018:187). Intellectual property: legal protection of databases: “sui generis” right. Protection requirements. Originality. Mr. Marcos is the author of a climbing guide published in 2011 which includes information about climbing areas in the mountainous region of the Boi Valley and technical information required for practicing this sport. The guide is organized as an index divided into 9 chapters. The…


Is it possible to force upon an intermediary the duty to cooperate in ceasing an infringing conduct?

Judgment No. 115/2018 of the Provincial Court of Barcelona of 20 February (ECLI:IS:APB:2018:1317). Intellectual property. Action for an injunction against internet service intermediaries. Defendant’s standing. The Asociación de Gestión de Derechos Intelectuales (AGEDI) (Association for Managing Intellectual Rights) files a claim for a declaratory judgment against a number of telecommunication companies asking that the defendants be ordered to adopt the measures required to prevent access from…


Three parallel stripes on a shoe vs. Two parallel stripes on a shoe

Judgment of the General Court of 1 March 2018 ECLI:EU:T:2018:108 “EU trade mark. Application for EU figurative mark consisting of two parallel stripes on a shoe. Earlier EU figurative mark representing three parallel stripes on a shoe. Damage to reputation. On 1 July 2009, the enterprise Shoe Branding Europe BVBA filed an application for registration of a position mark consisting of two parallel lines positioned on the outside surface of the upper part of a shoe. The goods in respect of which…