Verborgen zeden
Het Benelux-Bureau weigert een merk in te schrijven dat naar zijn oordeel, en ongeacht het gebruik dat er van wordt gemaakt, in strijd is met de goede zeden of de openbare orde van één van de Beneluxlanden. Iedere IEer kent de voorbeelden die horen bij deze categorie, maar is waarschijnlijk nog onbekend met het laatste tijdverdrijf van logo-ontwerpers:
“The game that designers across the nation are playing is; can they design a logo and get it approved without the client realising it's a big spurting penis? We asked our readers to send in the best cock logos from around the world for our team of experts to evaluate” Bekijk logo’s hier.
Harmonisatie in het Midden-Oosten
Ieder conflict heeft tegenwoordig ook een IE-paragraafje, dat blijkt maar weer: The Palestinian Ministry of National Economy is currently in the process of setting up a mechanism to unify the registers of trademarks and other registers of industrial property rights (IPRs) in the West Bank and Gaza. This mechanism will be applied as follows:
• The Jordanian laws concerning industrial property, which are now applied in the West Bank (the 1952 Trademark Law No. 33 and the 1953 Patents and Industrial Designs Law No. 22) are to be extended to Gaza.
• The decision of extending the Jordanian laws to Gaza is expected to be made during one of the upcoming Council of Ministers’ sessions, which is expected to take place within two weeks.
• The two trademark registers (West Bank and Gaza’s) will be merged into one, and it will administratively and organizationally be affiliate with the ministry.
• The official fees will be unified; the same official fees imposed in the West Bank will be applied to Gaza Strip.
• The registration of trademarks, patents, and industrial designs will take place at the Ministry’s headquarters in Ramallah, noting that the registration in Gaza will continue for a while. (Bron: Agip)
Meldpunt Computercriminaliteit
Afgelopen vrijdag is in de minsterraad, naar aanleiding van de instemming met de voortgangsrapportage terrorismebestrijding van minister Donner van Justitie en minister Remkes van Binnenlandse zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, besloten tot instelling van een meldpunt Computercriminaliteit. Volgens de voortgangsrapportage terrorismebestrijding "is de terrorismedreiging op onderdelen veranderd maar is deze nog steeds 'substantieel'. Hoewel er de afgelopen maanden geen sprake is geweest van een terroristisch incident tegen Nederland moet hiermee nog steeds rekening worden gehouden."
Hoewel radicale en terroristische uitingen prioriteit krijgen, zal het meldpunt ook aandacht besteden aan andere vormen van ICT criminaliteit (met uitzondering van kinderporno want daarvoor is het Meldpunt Kinderporno opgericht). In het meldpunt zijn de betrokken partijen vertegenwoordigd die zorgen voor verdere afhandeling. Het meldpunt voert ook zelf onderzoek op het internet uit.
Halfvolle kaas ouder dan gedacht? (2)
Campina ziet af van het kort geding tegen Friesland Foods (zie eerder bericht). Partijen zouden hebben afgesproken dat Friesland Foods in de campagne zal zeggen dat het alleen om een vernieuwing gaat.
Zwembad
IP Watch bericht dat The Swiss newspaper Le Temps on Thursday reported on the involvement of the WIPO building director in the construction of a personal swimming pool for Director General Kamil Idris According to sources cited in the story, the swimming pool was purchased in France in 2003 and paid for in cash by the building director, who worked frequently on the project site in his personal capacity sometimes during office hours.
In recent months, the organisation has been called upon to address a series of questions about the organisation’s financial and management practices that have come under scrutiny along with the United Nations at large. In addition, complaints have arisen about the way meetings of WIPO’s members are conducted and policies are developed. A WIPO official noted to IP-Watch Tuesday that “neither WIPO, nor any WIPO official, is under investigation.” Lees uitgebreid artikel hier.
ICANN verlengd contract VerSign
Na een onderzoek door een onafhankelijke derde, Telcordia Technologies, Inc., en reacties uit de Internet Community, heeft ICANN besloten het huidige contract met VeriSign Inc. met betrekking tot de registratie van de .NET domeinnamen te verlengen met 6 jaar.
verbetering van een kennelijke fout
Voorzieningenrechter Rechtbank Arnhem, 27-04-2005, publicatie 9 juni 2005, 123693 LJN: AT7146. Wolsky Products tegen WP Suspension. Vonnis in kort geding, houdende verbetering van een kennelijke fout (verzuimd is de termijn als bedoeld in artikel 260 Rv vast te stellen).
Vervolg op eerder vonnis (hier) tusen WP en Wolsky. Wisseling van namen, eigenaar, werknemers en bedrijven doet WP suspension besluiten om distributieovereenkomst te beëindigen. Vzngr oordeelt, o.a. en voorshands, dat het 'voldoende aannemelijk is geworden dat Wolsky Products belangen heeft in c.q. bij HK Suspension, en derhalve betrokken is bij het importeurschap van Wilbers Products, hetgeen in strijd moet worden geacht met artikel 6 van de distributieovereenkomst.' Kortom, rechtsgeldige beëindiging distrubutie-overeenkomst. Staking gebruik woord-, beeldmerk, domeinnaam en emailadres. Lees vonnis.
airfrancesucks cancelled
Air France heeft het geding gewonnen over het domein airfrancesucks.com. Volgens het WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center is de naam te verwarrend en maakt deze inbreuk op het merkenrecht. In dit geval vinden panelleden niet dat sucks in een domeinaam voor iedereen duidelijk aangeeft dat de houder van de domeinnaam niet gelieerd, maar, au contraire, gebrouilleerd is met de van zuigen beschuldigde merkhouder.
"The Panel is fully aware that there is a split among the UDRP decisions regarding whether a “-sucks” domain name is confusingly similar to the trademark to which it is appended. The majority of the decisions have found confusing similarity. In a minority of decisions, and in some dissenting opinions, Panelists have deemed a “-sucks” addition to a well-known trademark to be an obvious indication that the domain name is not affiliated with that trademark owner. This Panel, however, concurs with the notion that every case must be assessed on its own merits, and the Panel agrees with the remarks by the Complainant, and which has also been stated in previous decisions under the UDRP, that far from all international customers are familiar with the pejorative nature of the term “sucks”, and that a large proportion of internet users therefore are likely to be confused by “-sucks” domain names. This Panel finds that the airfrancesucks.com, domain name is confusingly similar to the established international trademark AIR FRANCE." Uitspraak hier.
Noot bij Rb. Den Haag 2 maart 2005 (Uitgevers / De Staat). Computerrecht, pages 143-148, 2005. Prägetheorie geharmoniseerd
Nog niet in het Nederlands: Opinie van AG Jacobs in zaak C-120/04, 9 juni 2005. Medion tegen Thomson multimedia Sales. Betreft een prejudiciële vraag over de de Duitse Prägetheorie en Art. 5(1)(b) MR.
Naar aanleiding van een zaak over het vergelijk tussen de mogelijke verwarringwekkende merken THOMSON LIFE en LIFE, wil de Duitse rechter wel eens weten wat het HvJ van de tot de Duitse merkenrechtdoctrine behorende Prägetheorie vindt. Volgens de AG komt deze theorie in beginsel overeen met de leer van het Hof, waarbij natuurlijk moet worden opgemerkt dat de leer van het Hof de enige juiste leer is.
The referring court asks essentially whether there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public within the meaning of Article 5(1)(b) where a composite word or word/figurative sign comprises a company name followed by an earlier mark which consists of a single word with 'normal distinctiveness' and which, although it does not shape or mould the overall impression conveyed by the composite sign, has an independent distinctive role therein.
The referring court explains the case-law of the Bundesgerichtshof which articulates the Prägetheorie as follows. The starting point in determining trade mark similarity where individual components of conflicting trade marks are the same is the overall impression conveyed by the marks; what must be ascertained is whether the common component characterises the composite mark to the extent that the other components are largely secondary to the overall impression. There will be no likelihood of confusion on the sole ground that the common component merely contributes to the overall impression. Nor does it matter whether a sign incorporated in a composite mark has retained an independent distinctive role. Individual elements in the overall presentation of goods may however have a distinct role that is independent of the distinguishing function of other components; the components are then viewed in isolation and compared. A component of a sign which the trade recognises as designating not the product as such but the undertaking from which it originates is not generally regarded as characterising the sign. Where a designation of an undertaking is recognisable as such it should as a rule be secondary in terms of overall impression because the market concerned identifies the actual product designation from the other component of the sign.
However, it must be ascertained in each case whether the position might exceptionally be otherwise and whether, from the vantage point of the market concerned, the indication of the manufacturer is predominant. The decisive factors are the specific circumstances and usual practice in the relevant product sector. The Bundesgerichtshof has accepted that in the beer and fashion sectors an indication of the manufacturer is particularly important, which is why in those sectors references to the manufacturer always characterise the overall impression conveyed by the sign.
It appears that the Court of Justice has endorsed an approach similar to the Prägetheorie, which essentially consists in comparing the overall impression conveyed by two conflicting marks one of which is a component of the other. That to my mind is perfectly understandable, since it can be regarded as an application to a particular category of cases of the principles articulated in the Court 's earlier case-law. That case-law, it will be recalled, calls for a global appreciation based on the overall impression given by the marks, bearing in mind, in particular, their distinctive and dominant components. The Court's statement in Matratzen that the overall impression of a composite mark may, in certain circumstances, be dominated by one or more of its components reflects that proposition. The extent to which the overall impression is so dominated is a question of fact for the national court.
In determining whether a composite word or word/figurative sign comprising a company name followed by an earlier mark which consists of a single word with 'normal distinctiveness' and which, although it does not shape or mould the overall impression conveyed by the composite sign, has an independent distinctive role therein is sufficiently similar to the earlier mark to give rise to a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public within the meaning of Article 5(1)(b), a national court must base its assessment on the overall impression given by each mark, bearing in mind, in particular, their distinctive and dominant components, the nature of the public concerned, the category of goods or services in question and the circumstances in which they are marketed. Volledig arrest hier.
