Case C-169/15, Montis Design – EU copyright and Benelux design formalities, a game of musical chairs?

When a company owns the Benelux rights in the design of a chair but then it fails to maintain the registration of its Benelux rights under Benelux law, can a rival company still be stopped from making similar chairs because of the links between the old Benelux law and current EU law? More specifically, what is the relationship between Benelux rights and the EU’s ‘term of protection’ Directive 93/98/EEC?

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Case C-24/16, Nintendo – jurisdiction by design

Nintendo is suing companies in the German courts for the alleged infringement of its design rights. However, the German courts wonder if they have jurisdiction to decide the case and the scope of any measures they might impose. The first problem is that the German defendant is only a subsidiary and its parent company is domiciled in France. The second problem is that although the defendant’s website has images on it that correspond to Nintendo’s design rights, these have been put there so that consumers know immediately that the defendant’s goods can be used in Nintendo’s games consoles.

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Case C-201/13, Johan Deckmyn – parody in EU law

Belgium has a tradition of creating comic book figures. Tintin is perhaps the most famous comic book character but another popular comic strip chronicles the adventures of ‘Spike and Suzy’ [Suske and Wiske]. Comic books can be protected by copyright. In this reference, the issue is whether the right holders can stop a political party from circulating a picture that spoofs the cover of a Spike and Suzy story.

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Case C-583/12, Sintax Trading – who decides whether imported goods infringe design rights?

For the purposes of the EU’s counterfeit goods Regulation No 1383/2003, who is to decide on whether the design of 64 000 bottles of mouthwash imported into Estonia from Ukraine infringes a registered design in Estonia?

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Case C-360/12, Coty Prestige Lancaster Group – jurisdiction and participation in trade mark infringement

Can a trade mark be infringed in Germany as a result of an act committed in Belgium? And for the purposes of Article 5(3) of EC Regulation 44/2001, does the harmful event occur in Germany if a tortious act is committed in Belgium but there was participation in the main tortious act which took place in Germany?

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