The Legal 500

Written by Martin von Willebrand

The legal rules often play a key role when it comes to business models in software businesses and notably in free and open source software projects. This is particularly true when the project owner wants to maintain some level of control over the software and the project itself. The balance between control and freedom is achieved by legal tools and policies, such as licenses, compliance policies, contracts, trademarks, organization rules, contribution policies, only to name a few.

Finland is a substantially greater source of innovation than the small size of its population might indicate. Finnish companies and research and development (R&D) centres are actively involved in top R&D in several fields. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2007, Finland has one of the highest R&D spends as a percentage of gross domestic product. As a direct result, the number of patent applications and patents granted is among the highest in the world per capita (see Figure 1). Furthermore, according to several recent studies Finland is among the top countries in the world in the field of patenting activity.

The Gibson Guitar Corporation (Gibson) brought a claim against Musamaailma Oy for the infringement of its trademarks by using GIBSON and LES PAUL when marketing and selling Tokai guitars and guitar equipment. The GIBSON and LES PAUL have been registered to Gibson in Finland. The alleged infringement occurred when the defendant used the words GIBSON and LES PAUL when marketing Tokai manufactured guitars in Finnish music magazines. Musamaailma claimed that the target group and magazines of the music business customarily refer to Les Paul type guitars and that Les Paul has turned into a common noun, which has a descriptive function. The key question is whether the registered trademark had lost its distinctiveness and become a designation of type.

The Finnish Corporate Governance Recommendation (the “CGR 2003”), initially issued in the year 1997, underwent last considerable revision in the year 2003. Although it has proven to be well-functioning and of an internationally high standard, new regulations and recent international developments made an update necessary. Thus, the board of the Securities Market Association established a Corporate Governance working group on 26 December 2006. The main task of the working group was to evaluate the updating needs of the then-existing code and to develop the code further. As a result, the working group decided to propose a new Corporate Governance Code for Listed Companies (the “Code”), which was first published on 20 October 2008 and approved by the Board of the Finnish Securities Market Association on the same day. The Code shall become effective on 1 January 2009  and, apart from certain exceptions, replace the currently existing Corporate Governance Recommendation for Listed Companies issued in 2003.

Finland is a substantially greater source of innovation than the small size of its population might indicate. Finnish companies and research and development (R&D) centres are actively involved in top R&D in several fields. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2007, Finland has one of the highest R&D spends as a percentage of gross domestic product. As a direct result, the number of patent applications and patents granted is among the highest in the world per capita (see Figure 1). Furthermore, according to several recent studies Finland is among the top countries in the world in the field of patenting activity.

The National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (“the NBPR of Finland”) is launching a new service product for corporate usage by establishing a list of trade marks that are well known in Finland.