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International trademark holders allowed to ask the safeguard of their right under the EC Reg. N° 1383/2003 |
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Monday, 31 August 2009 10:41 |
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With decision of the Sixth Chamber of 2 July 2009, issued on request of preliminary ruling proposed by the Finanzgericht München (Case C-302/08 - Zino Davidoff SA vs. Bundesfinanzdirektion Südost), the EU Court of Justice clarifies that article 5, par. 4, of the EC Regulation (CE) 22 July 2003, N° 1383, concerning customs action concerning goods suspected of infringing certain intellectual property rights and the measures to be taken against goods found to have infringed such rights, read in the light of Article 146 of the EC Reg. N° 40/94 on the Community trade mark, as amended by the Reg. No 1992/2003, must be interpreted in the sence that also the holder of an internationally registered trade mark is allowed to request and obtain - just like the proprietor of a Community trade mark - the intervention of the customs authorities of one or more other EU Member States, to safeguard its right. |
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New provisions on the protection of the "Made in" brand applicable only for goods manufactured after the 15 August 2009 |
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Friday, 14 August 2009 13:47 |
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The Italian Customs, with the Notices n° 110635 of 11/08/2009 and n° 111601 of 13/08/2009, find a remedy to the lack of a transitional period in the art. 17, law 99/2009, concerning the entry into force of the new provisions on protection of the "Made in Italy" brand (see our article), sharing the interpretation proposed by the Ministry for the Economic Development, according to which the rules introducing an obligation for operators to appose on goods manufatured abroad and marketed in Italy with trademarks of Italian companies, an indication sufficient to avoid any error concerning their real foreign origin, are applicable exclusively to those goods manufactured ("came to existance") after the entry into force of the above law. (continues ... in Italian) |
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"Made in" rules: Italian legislators jump back into the technical standards and regulations mess |
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Tuesday, 18 August 2009 11:52 |
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The saga continues... With regard to the legal provisions on the protection of the “made in” brand set forth in the Article 17 of the law n. 99/2009, it seems now that the Italian Republic has omitted to notify the new measures introduced to the European Commission, as the Directive 98/34/CE of 22 June 1998 (laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations), requires. Italian judges can therefore cease their application... (continues ... in Italian) |
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New provisions for the protection (maybe) of the "Made in" |
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Saturday, 01 August 2009 09:35 |
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In the Official Journal of the Italian Republic of 31 July 2009 n. 176, the law 23 July 2009, n. 99 (“Provisions for the development and internationalization of companies, and energy” has been published. Some of the most interesting aspects of this law are the amendment of a series of articles of the penal code (in particular, articles 473, 474 and 517), with the aim of punishing more harshly the crimes of counterfaiting, introduction within the territory of the State od products with false signs and sale of industrial products with misleading signs, and the amendment of art. 4, par. 49, of the law 24 december 2003, n. 350, whose new text is the following: “The importation and exportation for marketing purposes, the marketing or any action aimed to in non-equivocal way to the marketing of products bearing false or misleading indications of provenance or origin, constitutes a crime and is punished pursuant to Art. 517 of the penal code. The application of the “made in Italy” wording on products and goods not originating from Italy, pursuant to the EU legislation on the origin, constitutes a false indication; the use of any mark, image or sign that can induce the consumer to believe that the product or good is of Italian origin, included the deceptive or misleading use of company trademarks pursuant to the rules on the unfair commercial practices, constitutes a misleading indication, even if the foreign origin and provenance of the products or goods are indicated. The use of trademarks of Italian companies on products or goods not originating from Italy, pursuant to the EU legislation on the origin, without the exact indication, in evident terms, of their Country or place of manufacturing or production, or of any other indication sufficient to avoid errors on their real foreign origin, shall also constitute a misleading indication. Crimes shall be deemed to be committed from the time the products or goods are presented to the customs for the release for consumption or for free circulation, until they are sold to the retail market. The misleading indication of goods can be regularized on the administrative plan through the removal, on initiative and at the expense of the transgressor, of the marks, images or signs inducing to believe that the product is of Italian origin. The false indication of origin or provenance of products or goods can be regularized on the administrative plan through the exact indication of the origin or the removal of the wording «made in Italy». False or misleading indications of provenance or origin cannot be regularized once the products or goods are released for free circulation”. (continues ...in Italian) |
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