Do you plan to register a word or slogan as a trademark in Hungary? You should be careful, if you plan to refer to your company’s activities, because using general and describing words may cause problems either during the registration procedure, or later when someone else wishes to use your trademark. This time we will focus on the importance of having a unique trademark.
What can be the basis of deletion if somebody has a registered trademark which is identical to the name of a world-famous footballer? What are the factors to consider when assessing whether the trademark applicant acted in bad faith? In his fresh judgement, the Court of Justice of the European Union gave answer to these questions and we shortly summarize them.
In case trademarked goods have been put on the market by the proprietor or with his consent in the EEA, the exhaustion rule allows the parallel importer to further commercialize those products. However, this is not the case, if the trademark proprietor has legitimate reasons to oppose the commercialization. In this article we summarize the main cases when the proprietor can prohibit the use of the trademark.
Is it considered as a trademark infringement if a similar sign as the trademark has been put on products which are different from those for which the trademark is registered? Can the trademark-owner prevent such a usage? The European Court of Justice answered those questions in his very fresh judgement which revolved around a toothpaste. In our article we summarize the decision of the Court.
A trademark right gives the proprietor the sole right to use and exploit the trademark and to prohibit others form using that trademark. However, there is an exception from this general prohibition, which is the principle of exhaustion giving possibility for parallel importers to commercialize trademarked goods. In this article we summarize when trademark rights are exhausted under the EU law.