Category: Designs
The Lego case: The EGC recognizes the validity of the design protecting one of its famous construction blocks
Marta González Aleixandre, Associate Intellectual Property Department European Justice has found in favor of LEGO in its General Court Judgment (GC) of March 24, 2021 in case T-515/19, recognizing the validity of a design consisting of the representation of a block which is a component of this well-known construction game. The decision focuses on […]
Shall we play protecting our products? Design as a differentiating factor in the toy industry
Fakes are a major headache for toy companies. Counterfeiters, who even manage to obtain industrial property rights in their designs, are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. Let’s look at a few cases. Despite the general drop in consumption following lockdown in 2020, the toy industry has managed to emerge stronger than ever by taking advantage of […]
EU Design legislation under scrutiny: is a new Directive in sight?
The European Commission has published a report evaluating EU legislation on design protection, which assesses the overall functioning of the design protection system both at EU and national level, in what may be the first step towards a new Directive. By way of a quick reminder, designs protect the appearance of the product itself and/or […]
During lockdown applications for utility models to stop viruses grew in Spain
During the state of emergency, at least 110 applications for utility models were filed for products related to the fight against the pandemic. For individuals and small and medium-sized companies, utility models are an attractive way of protecting rights given the speed at which such applications are processed. The COVID-19 crisis led Spain to declare […]
How do you protect a website?
Nowadays it seems that if you don’t appear on the Internet, you don’t exist. For this reason, many companies invest a great deal of money and effort in creating an attractive website that grabs users’ attention and which has good usability features. The investment made in achieving those objectives is substantial and it is therefore […]
My product was copied and I haven’t registered it.. .. Is there anything I can do?
The Unfair Competition Law establishes the possibility of taking action against copying or imitation in specific circumstances, namely, when the creations are covered by an exclusive right, when there is risk of association, or if they would be taking unfair advantage of a third party’s reputation or efforts, when this is avoidable. These days, when […]