Innovation and IP: a step towards harmonization in determining ownership in France?
New rules now apply in France to inventions and software created by individuals who are neither private nor state sector employees.
CHAMPAGNE for Protected Designations of Origin!
On September 9th 2021, regarding the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO -‘appellation d’origine protégée’ in French) ‘Champagne’, the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of an extended protection of such appellations within the European Union (CJUE, 9 September 2021, C-783/19 (1)).
Car spare parts: the repair clause is finally adopted
The French law n° 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on combating climate change and strengthening resilience to its effects was published in the French Official Journal on 24 August. Article 32 thereof introduces into French law a so-called “repair clause” for parts intended to restore a motor vehicle or a trailer to its original appearance, …
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Registration of sound trade marks under Regulation (EU) 2017/2001: what is the mood music from the European judge?
On 7 July 2021, the European General Court (EGC) dissmissed the appeal brought by the German company Ardagh Metal Beverage Holdings GmbH & Co KG against the 24 July 2019 decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refusing to register the sound trade mark it had filed …
IP Box: tax measures to encourage innovation in France
IP BOX: a reduced rate for IP-based income, subject to account being taken of the R&D expenditure having given rise to the assets involved
When Banksy, Monopoly and others draw the bad faith card
Misfortune continues for the famous British street artist Banksy. Since September 2020, in a succession of decisions, the EUIPO (the European Union Intellectual Property Office) has so far invalidated six trade marks made up of reproductions of Banksy’s iconic works that had been registered by Pest Control Office Limited, a company set up to represent Banksy’s interests while preserving his anonymity:
Product marking, where do we stand?
The symbols ® ™ © or mentions such as “Trade mark”, “Registered design” are often used in business life, affixed to a logo, attached to a slogan, mentioned on a product or inserted in a graphic charter.
Lego, The Block of Discord
On 24 March 2021 the European General Court (EGC) overturned the 10 April 2019 decision of the Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) invalidating a design for one of the blocks of the famous Lego building set.
Open data future for court rulings in France
In its decision of 21 January 2021, the French Administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’Etat) gave three months to the Minister of Justice to issue an order setting out the date from which court rulings will be made available to the public. This has now been carried out with a slight delay with the publication of the order …
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Counterfeiting and Appropriation Art… or the Balance between Artistic Movements, Free Artistic Expression and Copyright Law
On 23 February(1) the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the High Court of Paris of 8 November 2018 condemning the American visual artist, the highly-rated Jeff Koons, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris for infringing a Naf-Naf advertising campaign dating from 1985. This is not the first time that the artist has been penalized in France and …