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-466/12, Svensson – hyperlinks and communicating works to the public
Does putting a hyperlink on a website constitute a copyright-relevant ‘communication to the public’ under the EU’s InfoSoc Directive 2001/29?
Continue readingCase C-463/12, Copydan Båndkopi – Danish private-copy ‘fair compensation’ and EU copyright law
For the purposes of the EC’s InfoSoc Directive 2001/29, must Nokia pay a Danish collecting society the private-copy ‘fair compensation’ levy when importing memory cards into Denmark for use in its mobile telephones?
Continue readingCase C-521/11, Amazon – Austrian private-copy ‘fair compensation’ and EU copyright law
Is the private-copy levy system of Austrian copyright law compatible with the EC’s InfoSoc Directive 2001/29 when national law: (a) puts the levy on all blank recording-media irrespective of whether the media are marketed to intermediaries, to natural or legal persons and for use other than for private purposes; (b) offers refunds in some circumstances but not others; and (c), only pays authors half of the net ‘fair compensation’ monies collected and gives away the other half to Austrian cultural organisations?
Continue readingCase C-387/12, Hi Hotel – jurisdiction and participation in copyright infringement
For the purposes of Article 5(3) of EC Regulation 44/2001, does a German court have the jurisdiction to adjudicate copyright infringement where there has been a contributory act in France?
Continue readingCase 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?
Continue readingCase C-355/12, Nintendo – a proportionate response to game piracy or an unjust market foreclosure?
Does Article 6 of the EU InfoSoc Directive 2001/29/EC mean that the technological protection mechanisms used to protect the copyright in video-games are legal even where they function to seal off the video-games market? [Updated]
Continue readingCase C-210/12, Sumitomo Chemical – insecticide and an SPC application
Can a supplementary protection certificate for a plant protection product be issued to a company when the application is made after an earlier marketing authorisation has expired?
Continue readingCase C-202/12, Innoweb – search engines copying insubstantial parts of a website
Can a company use the EU’s Database Directive 96/9 to stop minute parts of its website turning up on a rival website?
Continue readingCase C-657/11, Belgian Electronic Sorting Technology – does a domain name advertise?
Does the EU’s Misleading Advertising Directive 2006/114 mean that the concept of ‘advertising’ covers the domain name of a website or its metatags?
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