The Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-376/11 Pie Optiek v Bureau Gevers was published online earlier today on the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) website. No English version is yet available, but a Curia press release summarises the effect of the Opinion quite neatly.  In short, the case turns on whether a non-EU based trade mark owner could circumvent the protection accorded to EU trade mark owners during the 'sunrise' period for making applications for .eu top level domain names.  The non-EU company in this case sought to designate the intellectual property firm which acted for it as the 'licensee' of its trade mark, LENSWORLD, but an EU business which used the same trade mark objected.  This is not so much a licence, said the Advocate General, as a contract for the provision of services.  The CJEU's ruling can be expected in the autumn, if not earlier.