Cease and Desist Letter – What to do? From Ueli Grüter and Giedre Neverauskas They operate in waves, the law firms, but also other companies whose business model consists of issuing warning letters to others for the unlawful use of photos, mainly on the internet, and charging sometimes horrendous fees. The law firms often operate […]
In Germany, too, it has become established to assess the inventive step on the basis of the problem-solution approach. Advantages of the invention on the one hand and disadvantages of the prior art on the other play a central role. It is assumed that the person skilled in the art wishes to avoid known disadvantages.
Shapes of goods can be protected as trademarks if they are understood by the public as an indication of a company. However, if the shape of the goods is directed to an essential characteristic of the use of the goods, it is excluded from trademark protection under Section 3 (2) of the German Trademark Act.
3D trademark protection for square chocolate bar packaging (BGH I ZB 105/16) Read More »
If the patent holder has brought his patented product onto the market, he cannot use his patent to prevent the buyer from having this legally acquired product repaired by third parties or reselling it to third parties. This is the legal principle of exhaustion. But what happens if the patent only relates to part of
Delimitation between exhaustion and new production (BGH X ZR 55/16 – drum unit) Read More »
Once the Patent Application has been filed, the maximum scope of protection is also defined. It is not only important to have the correct wording of the claims. Claims may well be amended in the course of the examination. The description is also important because it specifies what is to be understood as an invention.
Inadmissible change to the original generic term (BGH X ZR 63/15 – Digitales Buch) Read More »
An intellectual property right such as a Trademarks or a Patents gives its owner a right to injunctive relief against third parties who manufacture, offer or distribute products that interfere with the scope of protection of the intellectual property right. If a court issues a corresponding prohibition, the question arises as to which actions of
In a patent infringement action, the patent proprietor regularly applies for an order prohibiting the infringer from committing unlawful acts. In the past, German courts have granted such requests without further ado and with immediate effect if the infringement has been confirmed. In its recent “Wärmetauscher” ruling, the BGH addressed the question of whether the
The claim wording is decisive for the scope of protection of a patent. However, the description must also be taken into account, both for the technical meaning of the claim wording and for determining the scope of equivalence. According to a now established principle, embodiments which are disclosed in the description but which no longer
Equivalence of non-described embodiments (BGH – Pemetrexed) Read More »
Normally, only the party offering or supplying to the domestic market is liable for patent infringements in the patent-protected domestic market. However, there are situations in which an act taking place abroad has patent infringing effects on the domestic market. For example, under what conditions is a supplier based abroad liable to a car manufacturer
Liability of the foreign supplier (OLG Karlsruhe 6U7/14 – Sealing system) Read More »