On 27 July the IP Court of Bologna issued a judgment (no. 2340/15) which summarises the current Italian law and case-law on the protection of trade secrets.

In the decision of 7th July in case R 1673/2014-4, the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) granted the appeal proposed by Net-a-Porter Group Ltd., a leading company in high-fashion online retailing, against the Spanish Duka Márquez S.L., which sought to register the word sign “Chêf-à-porter” as a Community trademark (CTM).

The Italian Court of Cassation recently set forth principles to be followed in the matter of proof of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages resulting from copyright infringement. In particular, it ruled on a decision of Genoa’s Court of Appeal concerning the infringement of copyright on the exhibition of paintings and sculptures «Italian journey.

By judgment of 15 July no. 8745/15, the Court of Milan – Business Chamber “A” – clarified certain issues relating to the proof of ownership of the plant variety rights provided by Articles 100 onwards of the Italian IP Code and by Regulation no. 2100/94/EC (and granted at a national level by the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, and at the Community level by the Community Plant Variety Office).

At the end of a legal battle echoing an earlier lawsuit brought by the same plaintiff, Gianni Rivera, the famous Italian ex-footballer, has been granted damages by a Milan Court for the violation of his personality rights in connection with YouTube adverts.

A recent ruling in a patent infringement case (no. 8356/15) gave the Court of Milan the opportunity to reiterate its position on the application of the so called “problem-and-solution approach” and on the criteria for the assessment of damages. Both issues have already been discussed on this blog, here and here respectively.

In a rejection of two actions brought by an English toy company against LEGO Juris A/S, the General Court of the European Union (GC) recently ruled in matter of three-dimensional trademarks, acknowledging the (contested) validity of two three-dimensional trademarks representing the shape of the famous Danish yellow figures (cases T-396/14 and T-398/14).

On 24 June the IP Court of Milan ordered, by way of urgency, the seizure of counterfeit footwear sold by an Italian company under the trademark “Converse All Star”.

The Italian branch of the renowned Swiss multinational Nestlé has successfully defended its “Galak” branded line of white chocolate products before the IP Court of Milan, with particular focus on its Easter eggs.

By judgment of 16 June 2015, (docket no. 53242/12), the IP Court of Milan condemned a number of companies of the Mondo Convenienza group to pay the damages caused to Flou S.p.A. through sale of unauthorised copies of the “Nathalie” bed designed by Vico Magistretti. The extensive and detailed judgment is of particular interest both because it addresses several issues that are typical of proceedings on the copyright infringement of design works, and for the significant damages awarded to the plaintiff.

On 14 May, Business Chamber “A” of the Milan court issued a decision in interim injunction proceedings on the infringement of the registered trademark “legami”, known in particular for stationery products, by the trademark “BeA legami preziosi”, registered at a later date and used for jewellery.

The Business Chamber “A” of the Milan Court recently declared the partial revocation for non-use of the Italian trademark “Zefiro”, owned by Gruppo Coin S.p.A., granting the relevant claim proposed by Louis Vuitton Malletier (recent addressee of another judgment by the General Court of Europe in the matter of trademarks, which we have discussed here).

In a recent ruling, the District Court of Rome addressed an increasingly popular topic: the balance between freedom of the press and the right to privacy (we addressed the topic, for example, here).

With two very recent judgments – in cases C-146/13 and C-147/13 – the European Court of Justice (ECJ) put an end to Spain’s hopes of obtaining the annulment of EU Regulations no. 1257/2012 of the European Parliament and no. 1260/2012 of the Council of Europe in the matter of European unitary patents.

In the matter of trademark infringements, conflicts between a licensee’s buyer or assignee and the trademark owner are usually more complex than the archetypal litigation between the trademark holder and any alleged infringer.

A legal dispute between two competing businesses in the construction sector involving some of the most compelling issues in patent enforcement came to a close with the Court of Cassation (Criminal Chambers) ruling no. 15646/2015.

The General Court of the European Union (EGC) recently rejected the action brought by Louis Vuitton Malletier against the decision in which the Board of Appeal of OHIM declared the invalidity of its figurative Community trademark (or more specifically, confirmed the previous judgment of the Cancellation Division of OHIM) representing the iconic brown and beige chequerboard pattern used in the nineteenth century as a covering for trunks and today for high quality leather goods.

On 21 April the Court of Milan declared the revocation for non-use of the trademark “Venolen” held by the company Società Prodotti Antibiotici s.p.a. (decision no. 4825/15).

By three decisions of 5 May 2015 in cases T-423/12, T-183/13 and T-184/13, the General Court of the European Union (“GC”), stated that there exists a likelihood of confusion between the figurative and word trademarks SKYPE and the prior word trademark SKY, which prevents the registration of the SKYPE sign as a Community trademark.

With its decision on 25 February 2015 in Case R 1856/2013-2 Yves Fostier v. Disney Enterprises, Inc., partially allowing an appeal, the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) confirmed the validity of the word “PINOCCHIO” as a Community trademark (CTM).