Category Archives: Trademarks & Design

A face of a woman cannot be registered as trademark if it lacks distinctive character

distinctive character

The European Union Intellectual Property Office – EUIPO – has recently rejected the EU trademark application of a sign consisting in the photographic representation of a woman’s face (in particular, of the face of a Dutch model) claiming classes 35 and 41 specified as follows: Class 35: services of mannequins and models for advertising or […]

Use of a trademark in a different form than registered and risk of losing rights

use of a trademark in a different form than registered

During a trademark opposition proceeding, the applicant of the opposed trademark can ask the owner of the earlier trademark, on which the opposition is based, to prove the serious and effective use of the title in relation to the goods and services for which it was registered. In lack of proof, the opposition is rejected. […]

Counterfeiting and quantification of a damage: even if the conduct is not culpable, the retroversion of profits is applied

quantification of a damage

With order published on July 18th 2023 (n. 20800/2023) the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation retraces the calculation criteria to be applied in the quantification of a damage compensable by the infringer, even when the activity of counterfeiting is not culpable. The case The Court examined an issue concerning the amount of compensation to be […]

Is it possible to register an emoji as a trademark? The EUIPO decision

emoji as a trademark

The EUIPO Board of Appeals, in the decision given on June 1st 2023 in case R2305/2022-2, excluded the registrability as a European trademark of the sign constituted by an emoji representing a hand gesture, thus confirming the decision of the examiner of the European Office. Emoji and distinctive character of a EU trademark The registration […]