In Part I (here) we shared thoughts about the phenomenon of green branding in the EU as well as the consolidation of the interpretation by the General Court (GC) of deceptiveness to combat green…
Consumers’ awareness towards sustainability is steadily increasing (see here and here), showing a big impact on market supply. Firms that previously paid limited attention to it have begun to…
The concepts of law, public policy and morality in trademark law serve as absolute grounds for refusal under provisions such as Article 7(1)(f) of the European Union Trade Mark Regulation and Section…
The pending IKEA v. Vlaams Belang case before the CJEU offers a key test of how freedom of expression (FoE) interacts with EU trademark law. IKEA sued the Belgian party Vlaams Belang for parodying…
This case is about likelihood of confusion as much as it is about the right to a fair hearing before EUIPO’s Board of Appeal.Facts and BoA DecisionThe plaintiff had opposed the application of the…
The General Court (GC) has recently confirmed that the figurative European Union trademark no. 002810299 consisting of two parallel stripes on the side of a shoe lacked distinctiveness (T-307/23 of…
Trademark law has a front-row seat to the rise of greenwashing. Since studies have shown that over 90% of consumers are attracted to brands prioritizing sustainability, the temptation to register and…
Already in 2019, the Austrian Supreme Court (“OGH”) had confirmed the lower instance decisions cancelling the Austrian figurative mark “SW Sophienwald” for being decriptive of its geographical origin…
My 20-year old son Victor has started reading Homer’s Iliad. When he is done, I will suggest him the reading of the whole HALLOUMI story, which is as epic as the ancient poems. Epics are the stories…
The start of 2024 marked a significant change in the UK legal landscape post-Brexit – the entry into force of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (‘REULA’). This is the first of two…
