A win for the famous formstrip of Puma
Counterfeit in the spotlight at Dutch television programme RADAR
RADAR discusses counterfeit trade with our client Puma and our colleagues, and goes over the negative consequences for consumers and the trademark owner.
Ms. Quik at the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam
Ms. Quik at the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam
The European Commission requests metadata of European citizens in the battle against the coronavirus
RUMAG’s use of someone else’s creativity for its own benefit: a trademark perspective.
In the Netherlands there is a Dutch reality show about a family called the Meilands and, more specifically the husband and father of the family Martien Meiland and his mansion: Chateau Meiland. The well-established man adores drinking wine and has a signature outcry to go with this adoration which is "wijnen, wijnen, wijnen". He basically made a verb from the noun ‘wine’, which would be something like “wining, wining, wining’’ in English. Meiland's trademark came to the attention due to a broadcast of a Dutch satirical television program ‘Zondag with Lubach’ about the lifestyle platform RUMAG. RUMAG offers clothing and wines in its webshop with the text "WIJNEN.WIJNEN.WIJNEN’’printed on it. Apart from exploring the boundaries of copyright law, RUMAG is doing the
same in trademark law.
Are quotes translated from English into Dutch copyright protected?
March 2020 the Dutch satirical television show “Zondag met Lubach” focused on the business model of the lifestyle
platform RUMAG. The company, with its own YouTube channel and webshop, is best known for its striking texts with white letters on a black background, in which the.spaces.between.the.words.have.been.replaced.by.a.dot.
One of the things that Lubach finds problematic is that RUMAG also uses the copied (translated) texts on, amongst others, clothing, home furnishings and accessories, and subsequently sells them via its webshop. In other words:
RUMAG earns money off of someone else's (copyright protected) work.
Website owner/manager is responsible for the content on a website
In a case between ANP (The General Dutch Press Agency) and a taxi company, the Rotterdam District Court ruled that the taxi company had infringed ANP's copyrights by placing a photo on the taxi company's website without permission and without mentioning the source.
Addition of a descriptive element to a sign does not prevent risk of confusion
The court in preliminary relief proceedings recently ruled that the sign (SIR) FRANKLIN infringes the Benelux trademark FRANKLIN. Both the sign and the trademark were used by hospitality companies.
Advertising on Social Media
If a statement on Social Media contains advertising, this must be mentioned. Whether a statement is advertising is judged on the basis of the entire statement.
Incorrect suggestion in advertising is misleading
In December 2019, the Board of Appeal (“the Board”) of the Stichting Reclame Code (Dutch organization that deals with the self-regulation system of advertising in The Netherlands) ruled in a case concerning communications in advertising by The Flower Farm about or in connection with palm oil.
Misleading advertising: advertiser is not as ‘green’ as suggested
At the end of 2019, two complaints were filed against advertisements by energy supplier Vattenfall, alleging that they were misleading.
From seduction to deception: consumer protection online
The Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (“ACM”) has set the boundaries where seduction turns into deception online in the Online Consumer Protection Guide.
Expansion of Good Law continues
After the arrival of Sander Verbeek as a partner in May 2019 and the further expansion of Good Law with the arrival of Jennifer Quik, in July 2019, the most recent expansion will be mid-March of this year.
Good Law represents Tomorrowland in complaints procedure with regard to sending commercial emails
In November 2019 Good Law represented Tomorrowland in proceedings before the Duthc Advertising Code Committee (“the Committee”) and later, on appeal, before the Board of Appeal (“the Board”).
Trade names
If the trade names of two companies are very similar, but the companies are far apart and mainly operate locally, the risk of direct confusion (explanation) may be limited.
Copyrights of photos
Don't just put a photo (e.g. ‘from the internet’) on your own website, without researching the origin of the photo.
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Trademark issues Tommy Hilfiger
Good Law has assisted Tommy Hilfiger in a trademark case concerning parallel trade of branded clothing from America to the European Union.
Portrait rights
The use of a portrait without the consent of the person depicted or the heirs of the person depicted is subject to a balancing of interests. In doing so, it must be ascertained whether a reasonable interest of the person portrayed opposes its disclosure.
Flitsmeister
In the third quarter of this year, the Dutch Advertising Code Committee received 759 complaints and notifications. One of those complaints was directed against Flitsmeister who offered the complainant Flitsmeister PRO.