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

The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has delivered an Opinion that the Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC (Directive) is incompatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, the Advocate General proposed that the effects of the finding of invalidity should be suspended in order to enable the EU legislature to adopt, within a reasonable period, the measure necessary to remedy the invalidity found to exist.Continue Reading Data Retention Directive is incompatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights

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

The European Commission has published Communications on Rebuilding Trust in EU-US Data Flows and on the Functioning of Safe Harbor. The Communications were released as a result of deepening concerns following the allegations of widespread access by U.S. intelligence agencies to personal data.

 The European Commission has called for action in six areas, including:-  

  1. Adoption of the EU’s draft Data Protection Regulation by Spring 2013;
  2. Improvement of the functioning of the Safe Harbour scheme (which provides a legal basis for the transfers of personal data from the EU to companies in the U.S. for commercial purposes);
  3. Swift conclusion of the current negotiations on the "umbrella agreement" for transfers and processing of data in the context of police and judicial co-operation;
  4. Use by the U.S. administration of the existing Mutual Legal Assistance and Sectoral agreements, whenever transfers of data are required for law enforcement purposes;
  5. Extension of the legal safeguards available to U.S. citizens to EU citizens, not resident in the U.S; and
  6. Accession by the U.S. to the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (as it acceded to the 2001 Convention on Cybercrime).

Continue Reading European Commission calls for restoration of trust in EU-U.S. data flows

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

Last week, the Copyright Review Committee (the Committee) published its long-awaited report aimed at reducing barriers to innovation in the digital environment. The Committee was set up in 2011 and tasked with the job of developing proposals for legislative reform in the contentious area of copyright law. Continue Reading Copyright Review Committee Report Published