It can happen that a brand, initially registered and protected as a distinctive sign, ends up becoming the generic term used to indicate a specific type of product. This phenomenon, known as “vulgarization of a trademark” or “trademark genericide”, occurs when the trademark loses its distinctive capacity and effectively becomes the common name of a […]
Is Chiquita’s blue and yellow oval a distinctive trademark?
The ruling of the General Court of the European Union, in case T-426/23, concerned the challenge to the figurative European Union trademark consisting of a blue and yellow oval, used for the marketing of fresh fruit, in particular bananas. The Court declared the trademark partially invalid, confirming that this configuration does not possess distinctive character […]
Venice Court Rules on Alleged Copyright Infringement and Unfair Competition
In an order dated November 28, 2024, the Venice Court ruled on a preliminary injunction proceeding concerning an alleged violation of copyright, counterfeiting and unfair competition involving a Christmas book and an associated doll. The plaintiff argued that the contested work reproduced, without authorization, the distinctive elements of the story contained in their book and […]
Innovation and IP: the Global Innovation Index and the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recently published two reports that provide a detailed overview on innovation trends at global level. The first in the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024, which collects data useful to understand the performance of patent, trademark and design filings; the second one is the Global Innovation Index 2024, which […]