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CLASS 46


Now in its twelfth year, Class 46 is dedicated to European trade mark law and practice. This weblog is written by a team of enthusiasts who want to spread the word and share their thoughts with others.

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THURSDAY, 28 MARCH 2013
Germany: No happy Easter for Lindt

 The 12-year battle between Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt and German competitor Riegelein over the scope of protection of Lindt's 3-dimensional "bunny shape" trade mark has come to a final, final, end. The BGH (if I am counting correctly, in its third decision in the dispute) dismissed Lindt's final appeal (appeal against the decision of the lower court not to grant the right to appeal, "Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde"). So far, the news has only been announced by a press release by Riegelein, so the reasoning of the court is (to my knowledge) not yet public. It will not concern substantive trade mark law, anyway, and be of limited interest. News source here.

These bad news for Lindt come after the bad news from the Landgericht Köln in December 2012, which enjoined Lindt from selling a "golden teddy" (depicted below) on request of Haribo, a Bonn based manufacturer of gummy bears who has been using the trade mark "Goldbären" (gold-bears) for years. This case is interesting, because the court found the word mark "Goldbären" infringed by the shape of a golden bear, i.e., a three dimensional representation of the meaning expressed by the trade mark. An appeal is pending before the Oberlandesgericht Köln.

  

Posted by: Mark Schweizer @ 12.57
Tags: Germany, three dimensional trade marks, ,
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