The concept of ‘neutralization’ is becoming a general principle rather than an exception to the rule. This can be detrimental to owners of trademarks, even famous trademarks.
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Advertisers and content creators should make their collaboration sufficiently clear in advertising messages. This can be done by "#ad," for example, but there are other ways. An example is "#LiptoniceTeaAmbassador."
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Spin Master markets the well-known Rubik's Cube. Goliath offers another "cube-shaped game object" on the market, the NexCube. Does the latter infringe? How far does the scope of copyright protection for the famous Rubik's Cube extend?
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Greenpeace is allowed to express its opinion in a confrontational commercial about the role it believes the Dutch bank Rabobank plays in the nature, climate, and nitrogen crisis. This was decided by the Advertising Code Committee. The television commercial features images of forest fires, mega-stalls and the felling of rain forests. The text and voice-over says, among other things: "Rabobank, proud sponsor of festivals & nature destruction" and "Rabobank, proud sponsor of museums & cutting down rainforests."
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Because of the spam ban, you may not just send marketing e-mails. In principle, this requires prior permission. But what about informative service messages? Is permission never required? Pay attention!
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Using ChatGPT, Midjourney, Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion and other AI applications in the production of advertising campaigns is super convenient and can save a lot of time and money. However, such use is not without legal risk. Not surprisingly, many ad agencies and international advertising networks have put the use of AI on hold, banned it, or subjected it to strict rules. But what legal risks are we really talking about? Without pretending to be exhaustive, in this post I will mention two relevant issues in the field of Dutch copyright law.
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Fruugo is an ordinary online marketplace: retailers upload and sell their own products on Fruugo, while Fruugo does not sell goods itself. Audi and Volkswagen found non-authorised products on Fruugo’s website and initiated infringement proceedings. They claim that not only the retailers on the Fruugo platform, but also Fruugo itself infringes their trademarks.
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In a YouTube video the dairy producer Melkunie claims to be on the sustainable tour: Melkunie is planting 40,000 trees. That's not greenwashing. Why not? Melkunie does what it says and also explains its sustainability claim. The fact that dairy production has harmful effects on the environment does not mean that Melkunie should no longer use the word sustainable.
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Food industry beware! The Advertising Code Committee (ACC) distributed an Alert (in Dutch) because unauthorized novel food was being advertised. An Alert is a way to bring the violation to the attention of a large audience. This is done in part through the Advertising Code Foundation's website and social media. With all its PR implications.
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Plastic soup in the Mediterranean Sea and porpoises mistaking a piece of plastic for a tasty fish. Or closer: overflowing trash cans in the park or a polluted ditch. To prevent litter, the European Commission introduced new rules regarding single-use plastic products (SUP for short). From July 1, 2023, consumers will pay a "SUP levy" for products with so-called single-use plastic packaging.
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What can a distributor do if the purchased products turn out to be infringing third-party IP rights? Can the distributor recover damages from its supplier? That depends on the procurement terms with the supplier. The importance of an indemnification clause follows from a ruling by the District Court of The Hague.
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On 1 June 2023, the Unitary Patent came into force. As a reminder, protection can be obtained with one (granted) patent in all 17 EU countries that have joined the Unitary Patent system. So far, these are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.
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In 2014 Ferrari presented its top-of-the-line FXX K model to the public. A photo accompanying the press release showed a front view with the typical "V" shaped element on the hood. Mansory soon after made a V-shaped "tuning kit" or "front kit" that made a just slightly less exclusive Ferrari look very much like a real FXX K. Ferrari had forgotten to apply for a registered community design (RCD) for the car and the V-shaped element as part of it.
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Do you understand what the title of this article means? Then perhaps you are a Benelux resident. In fact, the Benelux Court of Justice recently ruled in a case about a descriptive trademark that Benelux residents should basically understand German words.
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The rules and views on sustainability claims are constantly changing. Therefore, the Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) has given the 'Guidelines Sustainability Claims' a major update.
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Following a complaint from Cosun Beet Company, Air up must stop a YouTube video for its product air-up in which Air up speaks very negatively about sugary soft drinks.
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No, in the case of a food, dietary supplement or cosmetic product one may not say that it helps with a disease. So no ‘helps against eczema’ in the case of a cream. Nor 'reduces pain with joint complaints ' in the case of glucosamine products.
But what if this is communicated?
On the front of a package of La Bonbonnerie butter wafers is the designation ‘vegan’. Good news for vegans you might think, they can now also enjoy the Old Dutch treat. But alas, it turns out to be misleading food information. The product contains 1% butter and is therefore not completely free of animal ingredients. A big line through ‘vegan’, but what about the ‘veggie’ designation?
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The name 247 Laser Cutting does not infringe on the trademark and trade name of 247tailorsteel. This was decided by the District Court of The Hague in summary proceedings. While there is obviously more at play in this trademark infringement case, one part in the decision stands out to me.
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