Sector: Technology

In a January 28 2016 decision (I ZR 202/14) the Federal Supreme Court confirmed a decision of the Cologne Court of Appeal and rejected any claims based on the name of the weather app wetter.de against the use of wetter DE and wetter-DE by a competitor.

26 February 2016

Pledges by technology companies to rigorously enforce their trademarks are usually met with hostility and criticism online. However, a statement from the developers behind open source software Kodi vowing to crack down on trademark infringement, and even asking its community for help in this effort, has largely been welcomed, thanks to transparent engagement and a proactive social media strategy

22 February 2016

The United States District Court Northern District of Florida has ordered Uber Technologies to ensure that specific search engine results in Alachua County do not replace the results for local company Uber Promotions. The ruling potentially places Uber Technologies in a tricky situation, as it seeks to ensure that results across multiple search engines comply with the order.

19 February 2016

The Peruvian Trademark Office has imposed the highest possible fine of approximately $180,000 on an importer for the import of 36,000 joysticks with trademarks registered in the name of Sony, despite the fact that the goods had been tampered with to remove the marks after their seizure by Customs.

17 February 2016

In the film industry, awards season is in full swing. While the Academy Awards will make international headlines this month for celebrating the best of the silver screen, in Germany there has been a flurry of media coverage of a rather different type of awards programme – one that hands a statuette of a black gnome with a golden nose to organisations that are allegedly exploiting the IP of other parties.

16 February 2016

Growing use of technology based on the Bitcoin protocol will transform the fight against counterfeiting, claims one industry expert, who suggests that it could also help to rebuild consumer trust in luxury brands.

15 February 2016

A recent Court of Milan decision confirms that the protection of trademarks against third-party use as keywords is always relative, never absolute. However, such use must never mislead consumers about the origin of the products or services or suggest an association between the trademark owner and the advertiser.

15 February 2016

The Supreme Court has refused leave to appeal a district court ruling which overturned a Israel Patent and Trademark Office decision to register the stylised mark SONICGEAR notwithstanding the opposition by Sony Corporation.

12 February 2016

A new trend of sellers on online marketplaces offering customisable code for programmers to easily reskin popular phone apps is on the rise, and should be on the radars of all trademark counsel who enforce marks that are represented on app stores. The good news is that, as one industry expert notes, taking down one infringing customisable code could potentially stop hundreds of infringing apps from entering the app store environment.

10 February 2016

A recent High Court decision serves as a warning that not just any evidence of confusion will do; evidence of confusion and deception must be carefully analysed as to the cause of it.

29 January 2016