By the order under discussion, the CoA overturned this decision finding that, contrary to the judgement of the CFI, the validity of the patent at issue was not established with a sufficient degree of certainty for the injunction to be issued.

EU Court of Justice rules on use of trademarks on non-OEM spare parts

The Italian Institute of Advertising Self-Regulation Jury has ruled on the lawfulness of a recent Vodafone commercial dedicated to the purchase of smartphones in installments, in relation to the role of minors in advertising.

The Court of Appeal (CoA) of the UPC stated that, in proceedings that do not involve technical issues, the Court of Appeal can decide without technically qualified judges.

The court elaborated on when two parties are to be considered the “same parties” under Article 33 UPCA, based on which, if an action for infringement between the same parties relating to the same patent has been brought before a local or a regional division, the revocation action may only be brought before the same local or regional division.

In agreement with the Cancellation Division, the BoA considered that the contested trademark was registered in breach of Art. 7(1)(e)(ii) of EU Regulation no. 207/2009 as it consists exclusively of a shape that is necessary in order to obtain a technical result.

The Italian Patent and Trademark Office upheld Lindt's opposition against the registration of the ETNA EXCELLENCE trademark for chocolate and similar products, in light of Lindt's prior rights to the EXCELLENCE trademark.

The Court granted copyright protection but concluded that the shape of the Vespa might not be entitled to 3D trademark protection as it would be a “shape that gives substantial value to the product “. The next day, the EU General Court annulled the EUIPO BoA decision which had declared the same trademark null and void due to a lack of distinctive character.

The defendant’s deadlines for the submission of its preliminary objection and statement of claim shall be calculated from the date when the annexes to the statement of claim were made available to the defendants, and not from the earlier date in which the statement of claim – without those annexes – was served on the defendants.

The applicant stated that he was interested to see how the claim division was framed, particularly since it was filed in parallel with cases in other divisions, and that he believes there is broader public interest in this information being made available for public scrutiny and discussion.

The LD ordered that the language of the proceedings (Dutch) be changed to English, i.e. the language of the patent, to avoid considerable translation time and costs for the defendant.

In its recent order no. 16314/2023, the Italian Supreme Court ruled on the pre-disclosure proof requirements in patent law, stating that the choice between the various findings in support of the decision is ultimately the choice of the judge of the merits

The Italian courts’ jurisdiction was deemed to be limited to the request for a declaration of non-infringement of the Italian portion of Alfa’s international design registration (which in fact was not under discussion).

The Court of Turin ruled on an action related to an alleged evocation and/or unlawful direct or indirect use of the Grana Padano PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and the Riserva category

The IP Section of the Court of Milan ruled on the age-old issue of the assessment of the descriptive character of a trademark and in particular the coincidence of the trade mark with a characteristic of the product.

The Italian Competition Authority closed, without issuing any sanctions in acceptance of the commitments of Idealista S.p.A, the procedure in which it had contested unfair commercial practices relating to alleged misleading advertising where the company called itself "No. 1 in Italy".

The EU General Court (Case T-553/21) has ruled on the issue of trademark revocation and clarified what elements a trademark owner must provide to prove genuine use.

In its recent Order No. 348 of 20 October 2022, the Italian Data Protection Authority ruled on the data collection and processing policies for marketing and profiling purposes of Douglas Italia S.p.a., the renowned perfume and cosmetics chain.

The Supreme Court disputes the assessment of the absence of distinctive character made by the Court of Appeal: "Its statement that the shapes of the Kelly and Birkin bags are "standardised" is apodictic, as it does not explain the reasons for the lack of original and acquired distinctive character".

In a decision dated 18 October 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) fined the Company Mediamarket, which owns and controls the Mediaworld brand, 3.6 million euros for unfair commercial practices characterised by misleading and aggressive behaviour towards consumers.