Region: Netherlands

Until April 10 2014, illegal downloads did not exist in the Netherlands. Anyone could legally download music, films and books without incurring a penalty. However, on that date the European Court of Justice ruled that the download ban would take effect in the Netherlands immediately.

16 April 2014

A preliminary relief judge recently accepted De Smaak Van's request that use of the trade name De smaak van Twente for culinary activities be stopped. As both companies are engaged in the organisation of culinary events and the provision of business gifts and Christmas hampers, and their activities all take place in the region of Twente, the judge felt that there was a risk of confusion.

09 April 2014

<i>The Diary of Anne Frank</i> is well known. Frank's death in 1945 meant that copyright in the diary will expire in 2016, and thus the Anne Frank Trust applied for additional protection under trademark law. However, both the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property and the Court of Appeal rejected the application.

29 January 2014

Trademark use, and thus trademark infringement, have increasingly shifted from the offline to the online world. How should you deal with trademark infringement on the Internet and, more specifically, how can you guard against trademark infringement in social media?

09 October 2013

The District Court of The Hague has passed judgment in <i>Cresco v Taste of Nature</i>, ruling that as long as a plant meets the criteria for patentability of "novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability" and is not a plant variety, that plant is patentable. The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office must now deal with exactly the same questions in cases involving tomatoes and broccoli.

26 June 2013

The validity of Lundbeck's European patent and supplementary protection certificate protecting its blockbuster drug Cipralex® has been litigated in the Netherlands since 2008. The advocate general recently issued his opinion on the issue, but the Supreme Court's final decision is still awaited.

15 May 2013

As well as being an occasion of national celebration, the coronation of Prince Willem Alexander is of particular interest as the royal House of Orange and IP rights are closely entwined. Advertising agencies, companies and trademark holders that turn the coronation to their advantage can seriously benefit from the festivities – even more so if they manage to protect their creative efforts properly through IP rights.

01 May 2013

In a technically complex case, the Court of Appeal has granted Agfa Graphics NV an injunction after finding that products offered and sold on the Dutch market by Chinese company Chendu Xingraphics Co Ltd NV infringed Agfa’s European patent specification.

20 March 2013

According to European legislation, three-dimensional (3D) trademarks can be registered. However, day-to-day practice can be surprising. Once a 3D trademark passes the distinctiveness text, the exceptions laid down in the law will be lurking - for instance, is the shape determined by the nature of the product, or does shape give products substantial value? Therefore, registering a pure-form trademark in Europe is rare.

20 February 2013

In the wake of the patent trial between Apple and Samsung in the United States, Dutch engineering company ItoM BV has enjoyed success against both companies by obtaining a multimillion-dollar licensing settlement. ItoM challenged several major electronic companies for infringement of its proprietary transceiver technology.

29 August 2012