Region: Germany

The German Federal Supreme Court has handed down three parallel decisions on social-media influencers using their Instagram pages to advertise third-party products. The decisions are likely to be applicable even after issue-related amendments to the Unfair Competition Act come into force in May 2022.

18 November 2021

In our latest round-up, we look at Montenegro expanding its TMclass participation, KIPO seeing a significant increase in covid marks, and much more.

15 October 2021

07 October 2021

While this year’s Oktoberfest has again been cancelled due to the still ongoing global pandemic, we take a deep dive into how it is managed from a trademark perspective, including the protection of beer as a protected geographical indication.

30 September 2021

An appeals court has upheld that a German toy brand, Steiff, did not have its famous bear mark infringed upon by competitors, as the alleged infringing goods did not “use [the bear] as a trademark” – evidence of alleged reputation provided by the plaintiff was rejected as insufficient.

23 September 2021

In our latest round-up, we look at how verification sticker labels are reducing counterfeit seed cases in Kenya, Nodwin Gaming acquiring an IP portfolio, and much more.

21 September 2021

The Germany Federal Supreme Court has overturned a decision of the High Court of Munich and held that the golden colour of Lindt & Sprüngli’s Easter chocolate bunny enjoys protection as a colour mark, even without a trademark registration.

16 August 2021

Recent supreme court decision confirming Lindt’s non-registered trademark rights in Germany for its gold bunny paves the way for enforcement against third-party infringements.

12 August 2021

In our latest round-up, we look at Scamadviser announcing a new member, Ebro Foods looking to offload more brands, the UK government setting out its innovation strategy, and much more.

30 July 2021

Featured in World Trademark Review Yearbook 2021/2022

The following are enforceable in Germany: German trademarks, EU trademarks and German trademarks based on international registrations, names and non-registered trade designations.

29 July 2021