Intellectual Property

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Last week saw the European Commission adopting a revised regime in respect of technology transfer agreements. The new agreements will enable companies to better licence the use of patents, know-how or software held by another company for the production of goods and services. The new Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER) and accompanying Technology Transfer Guidelines (Guidelines) will enter into force on 1 May 2014.

The TTBER and Guidelines will create a safe harbour for licensing agreements seeking to strengthen incentives for research, innovation and stimulate competition. Continue Reading Patent Pools making a splash

The UK Court of Appeal has issued a significant judgment on the scope of protection afforded by Registered Community Designs (RCDs) in Magmatic Ltd v PMS International Ltd. The case concerned a claim of infringement brought by Magmatic Ltd (Magmatic), creator of the popular children’s ride-on suitcase range, Trunki, against PMS International Ltd (PMS), which manufactured a discount variant of ride-on suitcases inspired by the Trunki range. The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge, Justice Arnold, had erred in principle by disregarding surface decoration and colour contrast in his global assessment of the similarities between the two products.Continue Reading UK Court of Appeal Rules on Scope of Registered Community Design Rights

The European Union is promising its citizens better access to online music thanks to a new directive focusing on “the collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market” (the Directive). The Directive, which was adopted by the European Council on 20 February, aims to simplify and facilitate cross-border music licensing for online service providers. This is good news for Irish consumers who are typically kept waiting for innovative new music streaming services to hit Irish shores. Irish artists will also benefit from quicker, more transparent payments of performing rights royalties.

The Directive has two principle aims:

To facilitate cross-border licensing of authors’ rights in online music; and

To make copyright collective management organisations (CMOs) (also known as collecting societies) more transparent and effective.Continue Reading EU Overhaul of Collective Rights Management for Online Music

The CJEU has ruled in Svensson and Others v Retriever Sverige AB (C466/12) (Svensson) that providing a hyperlink to copyrighted works which are already freely available online does not constitute an infringement of copyright.  However, if a link allows users to bypass technical measures restricting access to a site on which a copyrighted work appears, then infringement may occur.

The decision had been awaited with some trepidation due to the essential role linking plays in the day to day operation of the internet. A contrary ruling would have created a serious barrier to the interconnectivity upon which the internet thrives.

Continue Reading Links to Freely Available Content do not Infringe Copyright

Earlier this week the UK High Court ruled that Lush (Cosmetic Warriors Limited and Lush Limited), the well-known manufacturer and supplier of colourful soaps and the "bath bomb", had successfully established infringement of its trade mark.  It was held that an average consumer browsing on Amazon, the defendant in the proceedings, in search of Lush goods would be unable to ascertain that the goods identified within the Amazon search were not actually goods genuinely connected with Lush. 

One part of the claim concerned the consequence of a consumer typing the word "lush" into the Amazon search facility.  Such a search would lead the consumer onto a webpage with suggested "Bomb Cosmetics" and other similar products, none of which are in fact genuine Lush products.  In fact, the Claimant’s Lush products are not for sale within the Amazon site despite the Lush registered trademark appearing.Continue Reading A win for a cosmetic warrior..

A US based Irish pottery designer, trading as Kara Irish Pottery, has initiated proceedings in Massachusetts against Belleek Pottery and it US subsidiary claiming infringement of her designs. Kara Irish Pottery, with offices in Derry City and Boston, is claiming that Belleek Pottery has been "palming off" its products as its own despite allegedly using Kara Irish Pottery designs. 

In court documents filed in late December, the plaintiff claims that her trademarked designs on her pottery reflect "unique and distinctive element of Celtic art and culture". Continue Reading Irish pottery designs subject of US proceedings

Zatori Results Limited, an online retailer, has initiated High Court proceedings against Shop Direct Ireland Limited, trading as Littlewoods Ireland, seeking a High Court injunction preventing the defendant from selling their version of a Christmas jumper. They are also seeking damages for alleged infringement of its unregistered design rights, with sales of their jumper down 75% compared with sales in 2012.

The jumper in question was initially designed and sold by the Plaintiff in 2012 and became a commercial success, being one of the top selling Christmas jumpers on Amazon. Their design features a snowman, Christmas trees and stars on a navy blue background, similar to the alleged infringing jumper being sold by the Defendant.Continue Reading Festive Battle in the High Court

Waterford sampled success this week when it obtained the European Union’s Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for its unique "Blaa" bread rolls. The floury favourite (which reportedly dates back to the 1690s Huguenot bakers) has risen through the ranks to join other culinary delights such as Parma Ham, Feta cheese and Cornish pasties at this level of legal protection. A PGI denotes a link with an area in at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation. Waterford’s acquisition of a PGI for Blaa means this specific type of bread can only be called by its famous name if made in the south eastern county. Continue Reading Waterford Blaa Rises Above The Rest