Posted by Alexander Tsoutsanis, senior associate with DLA Piper in Amsterdam.
On Monday 23rd May, Alexander Tsoutsanis spoke at Stanford during the Stanford Intellectual Property Seminar for IP Judges from the People’s Republic of China. Alexander was a panelist speaking about recent developments in Europe on the protection of well-known marks. Apart from explaining the European approach on determining blurring, tarnishment and free-riding associated with well-known marks, Alexander also discussed the general impact of the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in DHL v. Chronopost of 12 april 2011. This decision about Community Trade Marks basically obliges European courts to limit a cross-border injuction to (only) those jurisdictions where the functions of the plaintiff’s mark are harmed (and e.g. confusion in the market place occurs). This ruling may therefore require brand owners to revise their litigation strategy in cross-border trade mark injunctions in the European market. The panel session was part of a week-long visit of Chinese IP Judges to Stanford, in which leading scholars and legal counsels explained the current developments and best practices in protecting Intellectual Property.
Alexander is a senior associate with DLA Piper in Amsterdam and also a part-time assistant professor in Intellectual Property Law at Leiden Law School.