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🚪 Is it furniture or politics?
A Belgian court appealed to the Court of Justice of the EU with a request for a preliminary ruling on the balance between freedom of expression and trademark rights.
The cause of action is IKEA’s lawsuit against the Belgian political party Vlaams Belang. The party used the well-known IKEA sign and its corporate identity to promote changes in Belgian migration legislation.
Why IKEA?
In November 2022, the Vlaams Belang party presented the “IKEA-plan”. The abbreviation “IKEA” stands for “Immigratie Kan Echt Anders” (“Immigration Really Can Be Different”). However, the “IKEA-plan” has nothing in common with the Swedish furniture giant.
The Belgian party’s plan was inspired by proposals to tighten the rules for migrants that had been made in Sweden. The party used the reputation of the world-famous Swedish brand to strengthen its own message and increase its publicity and dissemination.
The Vlaams Belang party considers the use of signs corresponding to the IKEA trademarks to constitute a parody.
When the information about this political action spread, IKEA immediately made a statement:
"We decisively disapprove of the use of IKEA’s trademarks and corporate identity in the party's communications for political purposes".
Now the Belgian party has to deal with the Swedish furniture giant in the court.
In search of a right balance
Judicial practice generally recognizes that freedom of expression restricts trademark rights.
The European Court of Human Rights accepts the highest possible degree of protection of freedom of expression in the context of political discourse (Faruk Temel v. Turkey, Eon v. France, and Castells v. Spain).
Some EU laws recognize that the exclusive rights of the trademark proprietor must be interpreted in a way that fully respects freedom of expression, such as Recital 21 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 and Recital 27 of Directive (EU) 2015/2436.
The Court of Justice also supports a broad interpretation of freedom of expression (e.g. Google France and Google C-236/08 and C-238/08, L’Oréal and others C-324/09).
In the present case, the Court of Justice has the exclusive jurisdiction to provide a uniform interpretation of parody in the trademark law. We cannot wait to see the ruling of the Court of Justice and will update you on the outcome of this request!
More:
☀️ The Story of the Greek Feta: from Odyssey to PDO
🏛 Is architectural appearance free to use?
🥐 Intellectual property and cooking recipes in France
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Andres, if you still need we do UK and EU at Basck.com
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Hi friends, we need a translator（ 中-葡 ） with experience in patent documents. Please DM, thx
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Hi Friends, a client of mine is interested in filing a TM application in Saudi. Local agent please email me at info@gaolaw.ca. Thank you, Lei
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We have a client who is interested in registering a patent in Jordan. Please send a price offer and requirements
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Any attorneys in Bulgaria? I am visiting Sofia next Wednesday and Thursday.
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I need to file utility model in China, Japan, philiphines, send me your quote to ip@vaagaiip.com
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I just sent you information to EU from IGLOBAX IP info@iglobax.com
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Dear Colleauges,
My client is interested in filing a TM in USA Could you please send your detail with official and professional fess quotations to info@spectraip.com
USA based attorney and agents preferred.
Thank you very much!
🇶🇦 New trademark regulation in Qatar
Qatar has recently joined the list of countries that implement the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Trademarks Law, bringing the total number of member states using it to five out of six.
The GCC is a regional union comprising the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. This organization has harmonized the regulation of various economic relationships and even discussed the possibility of launching a single regional currency.
The GCC Trademarks Law has replaced the local trademark laws of each member state, except for the UAE, which remains the final state to adopt the Law.
It is important to note that while harmonizing the legal aspects of trademark protection, the GCC Trademarks Law does not create a centralized registration system. In contrast, the GCC Patent Office provides a convenient way of filing patent applications in the member states.
Novelties brought by the GCC Trademarks Law
Even though the GCC Trademarks Law has already been used for consultative purposes and has impacted the trademark practice, it presents a number of differences compared to Qatar’s former trademark law.
Several changes concern an increase in fees and modifications of terms. The changes will enter into force on August 10, 2023, giving applicants and the Trademark Office some time to get used to the updates.
More:
🇨🇳 Changes to the Chinese Trademark Law
🌍 Country names as trademarks
🇱🇾 🇱🇧 Trademarks in Libya and Lebanon
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Dear UK and EU Colleagues,
We need a fee of handling the opposition in UK&EU
More details please contact us via email below.
international@idgthailand.com
Best Regards,
Asadawut Intharasri
Dear Colleagues,
One of our clients intends to file a trademark application in Hong Kong (in one class).
We kindly request you to provide us with your best quote, which should include all expenses from filing up to registration. This should indicate both your professional fees and the government fees involved.
Additionally, please specify any required documents and searching fees, and provide an estimate of the timeframe for completing the trademark registration process.
Thank you.
Dear US Colleagues, I would appreciate it if you could send complete trademark filing quote for one trademark in one class with filing requirements/list of documents for Indian based Legal Entity. Kindly email to jaspal.rana@ipsignals.com, jaspal.rana.chd@gmail.com. Thank you!
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Looking for a reputed collection agencies in US who can help in recovering payments from the customers for a big client?
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Need incorporate a company in Bangladesh
Kindly send quote and requirements
Info@spectraip.com
Dear patent agents in Brazil
Please kindly direct message me
I need a form of power of attorney and certificate of US trademark registration, I will pay for it
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Hi Krishnan, I will send you our complete quote for China
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Dear Colleagues,
My client is interested in filing a Patent in COLOMBIA with priority claim. Could you please send us information procedure, official and professional fess quotations to europe@iglobax.com;info@iglobax.com
Estimados colegas de Colombia, necesito información del procedimiento y costes para solicitar una patente con prioridad. Ruego envíen la información a europe@iglobax.com y info@iglobax.com
Thank you very much! Muchas gracias a todos!
Dear All, looking for an attorney to conduct an investigation for the use of a trademark and collect evidence of infringement in Korea, please contact me directly at lewis@lewisdavis.com.cn thanks
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In need of quotes for trademark fees in the following countries:
1. French Guiana
2. Saint Barthélemy
3. Tuvalu
4. Saint Martin
5. Vanuatu
6. Cook Islands
7. Angola
8. Kiribati
9. Burundi
10. Congo
11. Marshall Islands
12. Eritrea
13. Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia)
14. Seychelles
15. Nauru
16. Somalia
17. Palau
18. South Sudan
19. Akrotiri and Dhekelia
We would appreciate if you could provide your Schedule of Fees with breakdown of the following:
(a) Search in one class
(b) Search in subsequent class
(c) Filing in one class
(d) Filing in subsequent class
(e) Publication and registration in one class
(f) Publication and registration in subsequent class
Do also advise us on the filing requirements and required documents. Could you please send your details to diana@kass.asia and kass@kass.asia. Thank you.
