Intellectual property

Guerlain almost had its G lipstick case rejected as a three-dimensional trademark, but the judges of the General Court of the European Union were more flexible in their assessment of its distinctiveness than the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

The shape of the lipstick, comparable to a ship’s hull or baby carriage, was considered sufficiently arbitrary, as the General Court of the European Union considered this shape unusual, easily memorable and uncommon on the market. It also found that the rounded contours of the tube prevented it from being positioned vertically as is customary, a clarification related to the use of the product that may nevertheless be surprising.

Ordinance No. 2021-1658 of December 15, 2021 relating to intellectual property rights in assets generated by software developers or inventors who are neither employees nor public agents and who have been hosted by a legal entity carrying out research (the “Ordinance”) unifies French intellectual property law with respect to service inventions.

Two of the three Decrees adopted on September 29, 2017 in furtherance of the Law for a digital Republic came into force on January 1, 2018. This provides the opportunity to recall the new transparency and fairness requirements imposed on operators of digital platforms. Since January 1, 2018 new requirements apply to some websites, as […]

Business reorganizations or acquisitions of companies often require the performance of a legal due diligence on the target in order to get the most complete picture of it. The due diligence process typically includes a series of investigations, including with respect to the intellectual property titles held by the target (portfolio of intellectual property rights) […]

Registration, as a trademark of the title belonging to a profession regulated by public authorities is contrary to public policy provisions. Such a registration can be cancelled. On the other hand, it may not form the subject of an ownership claim. This is the principle set out by the Cour de cassation (French Supreme Court) […]

In a case concerning the music Just because of you, the theme song of the French movie Les bronzés font du ski, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) reversed its case-law in a decision handed down on July 3, 2013. Specifically, the Cour de Cassation ruled that “while the moral rights of a performing […]