Michaela Ring

The Higher Regional Court Frankfurt (OLG Frankfurt) held in its decision 6 U 40/22 of June 2, 2022 that the imprint of a commonly known verb on the front of a garment would be perceived as a…

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) held in its decision C-541/18 of September 12, 2019 that the distinctive character of a sign applied for as a trademark –a prerequisite of eligibility for…

The German Federal Court of Justice (“BGH”) held in its decision “Papierspender” (“Paper Dispenser”) that a Community design was not automatically caught by the functionality provision of the…

In a recent decision of the General Court of the European Union (General Court), the Italian fashion house Gucci (Guccio Gucci SpA) once again drew the shorter straw against permanent rival Guess …

A recent case before the European Court of Justice has dealt with the interesting question of how Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation No 40/94 (now replaced by Regulation 207/2009), which provides that…

On July 05, 2016, the General Court confirmed the decisions of the invalidity department and the Boards of Appeal of the EUIPO and decided that the EU word mark "NEUSCHWANSTEIN", registered by the…

The General Court decided on 14 April 2016 (T-20/15) that the “PICCOLO” trademark of a German producer of sparkling wines had not been used in a right-preserving way. Just as in my last contribution,…

On February 24, 2016, the General Court dismissed an action of the Coca-Cola Company and confirmed the decisions of OHIM and the Board of Appeal (case R 540/2013-2) by ruling that the known shape of…