It seems that the long-awaited clarification by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on a number of open issues related to standard essential patent (SEPs) will have to wait a little longer after all. Nokia and Daimler have indeed just announced in a joint press release that they have signed a patent licensing agreement, bringing an end to a dispute started in 2019 after initial licensing talks had failed. Under the agreement,…

In the recent decision of April 29, 2021, the EUIPO Cancellation Division provided relevant clarification concerning the most appropriate evidence to prove the use of a trademark in relation to specific goods and services claimed in large categories. Facts of the proceedings In February 2019, an application for revocation for non-use of the EU word trademark “NUTELLA” owned by Ferrero S.p.A. was filed. The application concerned a large number of goods and services claimed in…

Con recente sentenza n. 179 del 29 gennaio 2021, il Tribunale di Genova ha liquidato il danno da contraffazione di una privativa varietale raddoppiando l’importo calcolato con il criterio della royalty ex art. 125 CPI. Il caso aveva ad oggetto la illecita moltiplicazione e commercializzazione, da parte di un distributore di sementi emiliano, della nota varietà di grano tenero denominata ‘Bandera’, protetta a livello europeo dal gruppo sementiero francese RAGT e gestita dalla società francese SICASOV in qualità di mandatario. Il Tribunale di Genova, dopo aver accertato la…

The long awaited ‘SEPs Expert Group report’ has been published on Wednesday 10 February on the European Commission’s website (available here). As readers will recall (see here for further details and group members), the expert group was set up by the Commission in July 2018, with the task of providing economic, legal and technical expertise to assist the Commission in considering policy measures to ensure a balanced framework for the efficient licensing and valuation…

Con una recente decisione del 22 gennaio 2021, la Divisione di Opposizione dell’EUIPO ha chiarito quali siano le prove più idonee a dimostrare la notorietà di un marchio. Fatti del procedimento Nella primavera del 2020, un’azienda italiana, attiva nel settore fashion e titolare del segno “PLEASE”, presentava opposizione contro la domanda di marchio “PLEASE DON’T BUY”. L’opponente motivava la propria opposizione in base alla asserita notorietà del marchio anteriore azionato, ai sensi dell’art. 8, paragrafo…

With decision No. T-253/20, issued on 20 January 2021, the EU General Court annulled the decision of the EUIPO Board of Appeal issued under Article 7(1)(b) EUTMR regarding the refusal of the registration of the word sign “IT’S LIKE MILK BUT MADE FOR HUMANS”. The decision provides significant clarification on the requirements to register trademarks consisting of slogans. Background of the proceedings On 14 March 2019, the applicant, Oatly AB, filed an application before the…