Cofemel – Sociedade de Vestuário SA v G-Star Raw. Background Since the 1990’s G-Star has been the proprietor or exclusive licence holder of trade marks including G-STAR, G-STAR RAW, G-STAR DENIM RAW, GS-RAW and RAW with jeans, tops and other clothing known under the design name ARC and ROWDY. Cofemel similarly makes clothing and produces …
“The Show Must Go On”
Ensuring business continuity in these turbulent times is challenging to say the least. The difficulties posed by coronavirus are hitting the economy hard and will continue to do so for some time. One of the worst affected areas is hospitality and entertainment which has seen an immediate and fundamental impact on events and bookings. Over …
Sampling in the music industry – a hard Kraft to master
On 29th July 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment (click here for full judgement) in response to a referral from the German national courts on the sampling of part of a 1977 Kraftwerk song, “Metall auf Metall”. In a long running claim by two members of Kraftwerk against German …
Sampling in the music industry – a hard Kraft to masterRead More
EU Copyright Directive – Is this the answer or will it leave creatives worse off?
Our interaction with the internet is an all-time high and as consumers reliance on it for delivery of services and products and for income generation continues to increase. The monetisation of IP throughout internet usage has increased exponentially in recent times and so the protection required for consumers and creatives has undergone a much needed …
EU Copyright Directive – Is this the answer or will it leave creatives worse off?Read More
Reputation protection and social media/fake news
The American business magnate and philanthropist Warren Buffet once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.” Organisations invest significant resources into building up their reputations with clients, their business peers and with the business community as a whole. However, they can destroy it all with a misguided …
Fair Notice, Commercial Actions and not taking IP for granted
A recent Court of Session case about intellectual property highlights that even Pre-action Protocol correspondence cannot cure a failure to plead fair notice or a legally relevant case. BTO Associate Lynn Richmond discusses. The recent Court of Session decision in Westerton (UK) Limited v Edge Energy Limited has served as a reminder to practitioners of …
Fair Notice, Commercial Actions and not taking IP for grantedRead More
Counterfeit Goods and Online Sales
In 2014 the technology law landscape changed significantly when the High Court in England ordered some of Britain’s largest internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to websites purportedly selling counterfeit goods. The case was brought by the Richemont Group (owners of the Cartier and Mont Blanc brands), who were successful in obtaining orders to …
EU Trade Marks and Brexit
Like many aspects of Brexit, the future remains uncertain. Commercial common sense dictates that in the world of intellectual property, like many other areas, agreement will need to be reached between the UK and EU which preserves the ability to trade and conduct commercial relations on a continuing basis. However, in the absence of agreement …