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DeutschTrade names and corporate names in the Spanish Trademark Act and the European Union trade mark Regulation
The legal regime of trade names, in one hand in the Spanish Trademark Act and in the other hand in the European trade mark Regulation, is a direct consequence of the commitment that countries which have ratified the Paris Convention, and in particular the regime concerning the protection of trade names “without the obligation of filing or registration, whether or not it forms part of a trademark” (article 8 of the Paris Convention), have subscribed. The latest amendments suffered in the Spanish…
Application of National Law by the OHIM
In the case OHIM/National Lottery Commission (C-530/12 P) the Advocate-General Mr. Yves Bot submitted his conclusions on 28 November 2013, and the hearing before the Court of Justice is planned for the next March 27. The interest in this case is evident because it deals with the possibility that national laws can be considered as European Community Law, by studying thoroughly the doctrine of the judgment given by the Court of Justice on July 2011 (Edwin/OHIM). The precedents on the case being…
The “burden of proof” of a trade mark to defend its distinctiveness
The Court of Justice will soon pass a decision on the preliminary ruling submitted by the Austrian Court of Patents and Trade Marks, in a case of trade mark revocation for the loss of its distinctiveness (case C-409/12 Backaldrin Österreich The Kornspitz Company GMBH against Pfahni Backmittel GmbH). These notes are written according to conclusions already presented by the Advocate-General. To continue reading this publication download the following pdf. The “burden of proof” of a trade mark to…
Rights to inventions made in the context of an employment or service relationship
The regulation of rights to so called employee inventions can take place both under the Patent Act as well as the Labour Law. To do so under the Patent Act in some way involves confining the regulation to the field of patentable inventions, with those inventions that have not been patented being left out, either due to a lack of patentability requirements or due to this specific protection having been waived. The regulation under the framework of the labour law raises the issue of possible…
NINTENDO, VIDEOGAMES, CONSOLES AND COPYRIGHT
On January 23 of this month, the Court of Justice of the EU will dicide on certain issues relating to technological measures implemented by Nintendo to protect their rights (at least this is the purpose stated by Nintendo), giving response to preliminary ruling made by the Court of Milan. The case processing before the Court of Milan is about consoles “DS” and “Wii” manufactured by Nintendo and Nintendo games (or those authorized by Nintendo) which are recorded on data cartridges and DVD…
CAPITAL COMPANIES. Contract freedom between partners.
The fact that the law allows partners to establish “all the pacts and conditions that the founding partners deem appropriate, as long as they are not contrary to the law, and the defining regulatory principles of the chosen social type” (art. 28 TRLSC) in the articles of incorporation and the by-laws is often overlooked. The possibility of including pacts and conditions as a mean to express the autonomy of the will means that there is not precise knowledge about the limits of that autonomy of…
LAW 13/2012, OF DECEMBER 26, ON FIGHTING MEASURES AGAINST ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD
This Law on fighting measures against illegal employment and social security fraud was published in the Official State Gazette of 27 December 2012, modifying certain aspects of the following issues: outsourcing of services issues, Social Security aspects, and infringements and sanctions in social order issues. 1. Outsourcing of services issues. The law modifies the contracting liability regime of the article 42 of the Statute of Workers Rights, increasing the period of time in which the…