Luxury brands rely upon exclusivity and a sense of superiority. Buyers of a luxury product invest not only in a product but also in the status and prestige associated with a particular brand. Obviously, image protection is of the utmost importance for luxury brands, prompting them to go to great lengths to defend their intellectual property rights. That is not all, however, as potential buyers must also comply with the brand’s rules of conduct.

While EU trademark law lacks a precise definition of bad faith, recent case law from the European Court of Justice clarified the interpretation. Aiming for consistency across Europe, a new common approach for IP Offices of EU Member States is introduced to address bad faith in trademark applications: Convergence Program 13 or simply CP13.

There is a current trend towards granting legal personality to nature. The idea is that this makes it possible to grant nature rights that can be explicitly taken into account when decisions are being made, or even enforced on nature’s behalf. This is already happening in Spain, where the Mar Menor lagoon has acquired legal personality. In the Netherlands, a politician has started lobbying to grant rights to Limburg’s hilly landscape.

A Japanese economist by the name of Yoshida recently published a calculation showing that subject to certain conditions and assumptions, everyone in Japan will have Sato as their last name by 2531. Why? Well, Japan is the only country in the world where spouses must have the same last name. Yoshida raised the issue − with success − to draw attention to what he considers to be an outdated law.

Back in the day, trademark applications in bad faith used to be a common occurrence in China, but this amount seems to have declined by recent more stringent Chinese legislation. Western brands stood for quality and status, and what could be easier than copying such established trademarks? Although it was very clear that the parties weren’t the rightful owners of the copied trademark, this still often happened.

Trademark cases can become deeply personal, and a recent Cancellation action before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) regarding the ‘Rubettes’ trademark is a striking example of this. The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band that achieved significant success with “Sugar Baby Love.” However, their history since then has been marked by conflicts within the band and legal battles. In 1999, Bill Hurd, one of the original founding members, established a separate band using the name “The Rubettes.” This led to litigation in the United Kingdom between him and Alan Williams (lead singer), which was settled in 2002.

Kwantum, a Dutch retail chain specializing in home furnishings and decorations known for its affordable prices, introduced a new, furry mirror. The ‘Teddy Wave’ mirror, with its wavy shape and soft frame of teddy-bear fabric, bears a suspicious resemblance to exclusive designer mirrors that costs much, much more. A lyrical client shared the tip on her TikTok account, and the video of the mirror was viewed more than a million times within a day.

It sounds like a picaresque novel, a small snack bar in Zeeland hindering a major American fast food chain’s plans to open up in Benelux, but it does show just how important trademark registration can be. If Wendy’s snack bar had not been registered in Benelux, it would never have had the power to exclude American Wendy’s from the region.

Obelix, Asterix’s best friend, is one of the main characters in the Asterix comic books. The Asterix & Obelix series is popular all over the world and has been translated into many languages. There is a huge range of Asterix merchandise: mugs, bags and wigs to name a few. There’s even an Asterix theme park in France. We’ll start with a spoiler: the fate of our comic hero Obelix takes a turn for the worse in this blog.

When is a name truly descriptive from a legal standpoint, rendering it ineligible for registration? The British clothing brand SUPERDRY, known for its vintage Americana style with Japanese graphics, recently found out. The European Trademark Office rejected the SUPERDRY trademark for most of the products and services for which the application was filed. The Office ruled that SUPERDRY means 'remarkably free of moisture’ and is descriptive, thus lacking distinctiveness.

Exclusive, expensive, coveted. Words that aptly describe the products of the Hermès brand. This fashion house is particularly renowned for its handbags (the Birkin bag being a prime example) and scarves. Luxury goods with a luxurious appeal. It's imperative that the exclusivity and reputation of the brand must be fiercely protected.

Puma registered the design of its Creeper shoe in 2016 with a view to obtaining the exclusive rights to it. J van Hilst (HJVH) scuppered their plans by filing a revocation action claiming that the Creeper shoe did not meet the novelty requirement because Rihanna had worn an identical design in an Instagram photo taken a year earlier. By law, any design application must be both novel and must differ in overall impression from other designs in the market. The novelty requirement stipulates that the design, or a closely similar one, must not have been made public on the date of the application

Butchers and meat suppliers already had plenty on their minds as a result of people eating less meat, but the producers of vegetarian meat alternatives are now also using meat-related names for their products. Surely this is misleading? Trademark law states that distinctive product names filed as trademarks may not be misleading. For example, the Benelux trademark authority rejected an application for CHICKEN TONIGHT, as it considered its use for non-chicken-related meat to be misleading.

There was a time in the European Union when all you had to do to register a descriptive word as a trademark was to add a minimal graphic element, but those days are long gone. Nowadays, the more descriptive a word, the stronger the graphic element must be; using a simple font or basic shape alone is insufficient to provide the necessary distinctiveness to a descriptive word.

How to enter a new market without substantial advertising budgets? Welcome to the world of guerrilla marketing. One way is to challenge market leaders and that is exactly what Tony Chocolonely did in her “Sweet Solution” campaign. Although legally risky, having a major brand owner react attracts a lot of media attention. Tony Chocolonely is a well-known chocolate brand in the Netherlands with colorful chocolate bars in various flavors. Their strong brand promise which is making the chocolate industry exploitation free, is part of their success.

Pokémon has been having a tough time lately. As a popular game brand that is well-known all over the world, it naturally has a significant fan base. Unfortunately, some of those fans turned out to be free riders. News recently broke that the game Palword was some kind of A.I. rip off (meaning a possible copyright infringement). As if this were not enough, Pokémon has also had to defend its trademark rights. Fortunately for Pokémon, the opposition proceedings before the European Trademarks Office were a walk in the park, given that the best name the opposing party ─ a Chinese company ─ had been able to come up with was ‘Pokemo’.

Energy drinks and video games may not, at first glance, seem to be in direct competition. However, well-known game producer Ubisoft recently faced an objection from Monster Energy, the company behind the drinks of the same name. Monster Energy filed an opposition to the new videogame Gods & Monsters on the grounds that it could be confused with the MONSTER ENERGY logo.

A Dutch insurance company regularly runs television commercials saying "Stay ordinary for long enough and one day you will be special". There is certainly a kernel of truth to this saying. Unfortunately, it does not tend to apply to trademarks that are inherently lacking in distinctiveness. These are often word marks that spell out exactly what a company does.