On 22 July 2019 Section 15 of the Barcelona Court of Appeal declared that Red Paralela SL and Red Paralela BCN SL (together, Red Paralela) had infringed Schweppes International Limited’s Spanish SCHWEPPES trademarks by importing and commercialising Schweppes-branded tonics in Spain which had been manufactured in the United Kingdom by Coca-Cola/Atlantic Industries (together, Coca-Cola), the…
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ’s) 12 September 2019 judgment in Cofemel-Sociedade de Vestuário, SA v G-Star Raw(1) is good news for EU designers, as it confirms what has already been stated by some Spanish courts – namely, that a design need not have artistic merit, aesthetic value or a particular visual attraction to qualify…
On 5 July 2019 the Oviedo Court of Appeal (Section 3) confirmed a trial court decision which had: found the defendant guilty of copyright infringement; sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment; and ordered him to pay the plaintiff’s court costs and damages of an amount to be determined during the enforcement of the sentence on…
On 26 June 2019 the Madrid Court of Appeal confirmed a 29 December 2018 decision of the Madrid Trial Court Number 11, which had sentenced a Spanish resident of Chinese origin to five months’ imprisonment for the possession of 9,317 counterfeit items of clothing – including t-shirts which infringed FC Barcelona’s IP rights – for…
On 31 October 2003 Mr Tadeusz Ogrodnik (hereinafter ‘the applicant’) filed an application for registration of an EU trademark for goods in Classes 5 and 31. Registration was sought for the following figurative sign: Read More
World Trademark Review has just launched a new publication, “WTR Global Leaders”, which shines the spotlight on the best lawyers in trademark practice. We are delighted to announce that three of Grau & Angulo’s lawyers have been named, giving us more mentioned lawyers than any other Spanish firm in the list. It is great to…
Grifols, SA filed a lawsuit before the Barcelona courts against Algoritmos Procesos y Diseños, SA (APD) for infringement of European Patent 2.025.601/Spanish Patent 2.372.228, which protected a blister pack handling machine (the UNIBOT machine). Read More
On 8 April 2019 Valencia Criminal Court Number 15 convicted the managers of a company operating in the souvenir industry for a crime against IP rights – namely, designs – in accordance with Article 273 of the Criminal Code. Read More
On 8 May 2019 the Supreme Court declared a Madrid Court of Appeal judgment to be final, confirming the cancellation of Carrefour Société Anonyme’s CONTINENTE trademarks and recognising Modelo Continente Hipermercados SA’s right to register and use its CONTINENTE mark in Spain. Read More
As a general rule, defendants in Spain must be heard before a preliminary injunction request against them can be upheld. Preliminary injunctions can therefore be granted ex parte only in exceptional cases – namely, in cases of urgency or if the hearing could jeopardise the preliminary injunction’s aim. However, in pharmaceutical patent cases, plaintiffs often…
On 5 April 2019 Section 5 of the Barcelona Court of Appeal revoked the 21 March 2018 judgment of the Commercial Court of Barcelona Number 2, which had dismissed all of the claims filed by the owner and licensee of the MUSTELA trademark against its former distributor and various other companies. The plaintiffs had filed…
Act 2/2019 of 1 March 2019 has modified the consolidated text of the Copyright Act (1/1996) of 12 April 1996 and incorporated the following EU directives into the Spanish legal system: EU Directive 2014/26/EU on the collective management of copyright and related rights and the multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use…
DPG opposed registration of mark representing bottle and arrow in Classes 35, 40 and 42 based on earlier mark representing can, bottle and arrow in same classes. Board of Appeal found that likelihood of confusion could not be excluded. General Court agreed, finding that common figurative elements were likely to be remembered by consumers, even though they…
On 3 April 2019 the Supreme Court rejected the extraordinary appeals filed by Pfizer against a Barcelona Court of Appeal judgment, confirming the dismissal of a patent infringement action against sildenafil generics competitors in Spain. Read More
EU Trademark Court rules on use of well-known trademarks to sell smell-alike perfumes Read More
On 1 March 2019 the Valencia Court of Appeal, acting as a trial court, sentenced two defendants to one-and-a-half years in prison for importing thousands of pairs of counterfeit shoes for commercial purposes. Read More
On 3 December 2018 Section 8 of the Alicante Court of Appeal, acting as the EU Trademark Court of Appeal, declared that the Ibiza Beach drink marketed by Productos Ibicencos, SL and Aromáticas de Ibiza, SL – whose bottle was highly similar to the well-known Malibu bottle – infringed The Absolut Company AB’s (TAC’s) 3D…
On 8 February 2019 the Barcelona Court of Appeal confirmed the January 2018 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 5 decision which had declared European Patent 1.472.156 (Spanish Patent 2.260.626) (EP’156) and European Patent 1.808.382 (Spanish Patent 2.407.963) (EP’382) – both of which related to Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules – to be valid and infringed by Fast…
Grau & Angulo has once again been ranked as a leader in WTR 1000 with five of its lawyers, Jorge Grau, Alejandro Angulo, Sonia Santos, Jesús Arribas and Maite Ferrándiz being highlighted among Spain’s leading trademark lawyers in 2019
On 19 December 2018 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 4 dismissed a patent infringement action brought by Mundipharma against two generics of its oxycodone and naloxone medicinal product for the treatment of pain (Targin) and upheld the defendants’ counterclaim that the asserted patent was invalid. Facts Mundipharma holds European Patent EP2425825 (EP’825), entitled ‘Pharmaceutical preparation containing…
In 2013 defendant signed settlement agreement undertaking not to infringe any design owned by Robin Ruth Group In 2014 police found handbags infringing Robin Ruth Group’s design in defendant’s warehouse Court found that both subjective and objective elements of crime were present By Barbara Krystkowiak Download
14 January 2019 – Ignacio Pontijas Facts Ex parte inspection and ex parte injunction Commercial court decision Barcelona Court of Appeal decision Read More
A new edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s largest and most important event in the mobile communications industry, will be held in Barcelona from 25 to 28 February, 2019. Leer más
On 2 October 2018 the EU Trademark Court Number 1 of Alicante granted the interim injunction application filed by Xiaomi Inc against Blablatel Mobile SL for trademark infringement due to the parallel import of technological products from outside the European Economic Area. Read More
On 25 July 2018 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 2 declared that teleshopping ads broadcast by European Home Shopping, SL (the defendant) had infringed the copyright in three similar ads created by Telebrands Corp, International Edge, Inc and Best Option Products SL (the plaintiffs). Read More
On 15 June 2018 the Ministry of Culture and Sports fined a website owner under the Consolidated Text of the IP Act for allowing users to download copyrighted content from Spain. Read More
The recognised lawyers are: Alejandro Angulo, Jesús Arribas, Maite Ferrándiz, Jorge Grau, Javier Huarte and Sonia Santos
Partner Jesús Arribas took part in the XIII European Union Intellectual Property Office held in Alicante on 15 and 16 November. He spoke about urgent interim injunction measures and protective letters at trade fairs and other events. http://www.icali.es/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Jornadas-Marca-Tribunal-2018.pdf
On 20 July 2018 the Council of Ministers approved a preliminary draft law which will partially amend the Trademark Act (17/2001) in order to incorporate the EU Trademark Directive (2015/2436/EC). Read More
On 12 September 2018 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 5 dismissed a preliminary injunction request filed by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) regarding the commercialisation of generic medicinal products comprising ezetimibe and simvastatin. Read more
– Patent, Trademark, Copyright & Design litigation – Advice on licence agreements •Anti-counterfeiting actions – Domain name disputes – Unfair competition Authors Sonia Santos and Jesús Arribas Download This article first appeared in World Trademark Review Yearbook 2019/2020, a supplement to World Trademark Review, published by Globe Business Media Group – IP Division. To view the…
General Court confirms likelihood of confusion between PRIMART and PRIMA European Union – Grau & Angulo EUIPO Board of Appeal found likelihood of confusion between PRIMART and PRIMA in Class 30 Court con rmed that signs were visually similar to an average degree, and phonetically similar to an higher-than-average degree Group of letters ‘prima’ contributed…
On 6 April 2018 the Court of Appeal of Zaragoza confirmed the judgment issued by the Trial Court Number 1 of Zaragoza, which had sentenced the two defendants for importing thousands of counterfeit t-shirts from China.
On 14 March 2018 the Barcelona Commercial Court Number 4 dismissed a patent infringement action brought by Novartis against the first generics in Spain of its valsartan and amlodipine medicinal product for the treatment of hypertension (Exforge). The court upheld the defendants’ counterclaim for invalidity of the asserted patent.
On 13 April 2018 the Barcelona Court of Appeal issued two decisions confirming the Barcelona Commercial Court Numbers 1 and 4 rulings revoking the preliminary injunctions that they had granted…
The Fellowship is designed to help pre-law and law students gain real-world legal insight and experience in Spain.
European Union – Grau & Angulo May 24 2018 In El Corte Inglés SA v EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (Case T-241/16, May 4 2018), the General Court has annulled the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the EUIPO, thereby allowing the registration of the EU figurative mark EW. Read More
Spain – Grau & Angulo May 23 2018 On February 23 2018 the Barcelona Court of Appeal dismissed the writ of appeal filed by an online seller of counterfeit shoes against a condemnatory judgment issued by Barcelona Trial Court Number 9 on October 27 2017, confirming the judgment in its entirety. Barcelona Trial Court Number…
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) took place in Barcelona from February 26 to March 1 2018 (for further details please see “Courts adopt specific protocol for protecting IP rights during MWC 2018”). Read More
On December 12 2017 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 5 revoked a preliminary injunction which had been granted ex parte at the request of Merck Sharp & Dohme BV (MSD) against Laboratorios León Farma and Exeltis Healthcare for alleged patent infringement.
On March 7 2018 the Supreme Court confirmed the revocation of the collective trademark BARCELONA – whose registration had been sought in all classes of the Nice Classification – due to its lack of distinctiveness.
On January 9 2018 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 5 upheld the patent infringement action filed by Société des Produits Nestlé against Fast Eurocafé, SA on the basis of European Patent (EP) 1.472.156/Spanish Patent 2.260.626 (the ‘156 patent) and EP 1.808.382/Spanish Patent 2.407.963 (the ‘382 patent). Read More
In 2017 the EU Trademark Regulation (2017/1001) and the Spanish Patents Act (24/2015) entered into force. Both pieces of legislation have affected EU trademark and Community design litigation in Spain. The EU Trademark Regulation is a codified version of the previous EU Community Trademark Regulation (207/2009), taking into account the modifications made by EU Regulation…
A new edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s most important event in the mobile communications industry, will be held in Barcelona from 26th February to 1st March, 2018. Foreseeing possible conflicts that may exist between the companies participating in the event, the Panel of Judges of the Commercial Courts of Barcelona have…
January 08 2018 | Contributed by Grau & Angulo. On October 20 2017 Barcelona Commercial Court Number 4 lifted the preliminary injunctions that it had previously granted ex parte at the request of Gilead in relation to the imminent market launch of tenofovir and emtricitabine generic medicinal products by Mylan and Teva. Download
Grau & Angulo is pleased to welcome two new partners, Ignacio Marqués and Carlota Viola, who have been promoted as of January 2018. Both lawyers hold crucial roles in the firm’s development. Ignacio works in matters relating to patents, trademarks, design, copyright, unfair competition and advertising where he has a wealth of experience both as…
In addition, five lawyers from Grau & Angulo have been included in the 10th edition of Best Lawyers in Spain in this category: Alejandro Angulo, Jesús Arribas, Jorge Grau, Javier Huarte and Sonia Santos.
Grau & Angulo hosted a breakfast meeting on 24 November 2017 at the Club Financiero Génova in Madrid on Insights into Intellectual Property Enforcement in China INSIGHTS INTO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENFORCEMENT IN CHINA CLAVES SOBRE DEFENSA DE PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL EN CHINA Breakfast Meeting – Desayuno Informativo Madrid, 24th November 2017 09:45h. AM The flourishing manufacturing ecosystem…
In Futbol Club Barcelona v Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (Judgment 132/2017, February 17 2017), the Catalonia High Court of Justice revoked a Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) decision which had granted the registration of an industrial design featuring an image of the Camp Nou stadium. Read More
General Court upholds decision on prior non-registered national trademarks…
