Using someone else’s database
What is the scope of legal protection of databases? Can lawful users make unlimited use of them? Can the creator of the database limit access to it? The courts had to address these issues in a dispute between an airline and an operator of an online search engine for discount air tickets.
Arabic for “Coke”? Master Cola isn’t it
When examining the similarity of trademarks, the typeface in which verbal elements of the marks are written must be considered, the EU’s General Court ruled in a recent judgment on reputed trademarks.
What a difference a minute makes: To receive or not receive compensation for a flight delay
In strictly defined instances a passenger has the right to compensation for a flight delay, but the law does not say exactly how the period of the delay should be calculated. The European Court of Justice recently answered this question.
Buying on the cheap is no crime—at least not under TFEU Art. 107
In the SARC case, the Court of Justice of the European Union has held that an advantageous licence from a public university does not necessarily constitute impermissible state aid. The case also provides important guidelines on when an undertaking may seek to annul a decision by the European Commission finding that a competitor has not received impermissible state aid under TFEU Art. 263.
Air carriers' liability for flight delays under the latest rulings from the ECJ and US courts
A right to compensation may be deduced from Regulation 261/2004 not only for cancellation of a flight, but also for a delay of 3 hours or more. Passengers eagerly exploit this right, but the court decisions continue to raise new controversies.
When is it sufficient to state the amount in dispute in euro?
The European Court of Justice has ruled that the requirement to specify the amount in dispute in Polish currency does not apply to the European order for payment procedure.
No two faces are quite the same
An industrial design, which protects the external appearance of a product, may not be the same as a trademark, which designates the origin of goods. Thus there may be a conflict between the registration rights to a design and a trademark.
German court could decide on access to antitrust leniency files by injured party
The European Court of Justice has held that it is up to the national courts to determine whether and how to provide access to files generated under leniency programmes by injured parties seeking damages for violation of competition law.
May counterfeit and pirated goods in transit through the EU be seized and destroyed?
The European Court of Justice has clarified its holdings on the issue of transit of infringing goods through EU territory.
eBay on the blacklist
On 12 July 2011 the European Court of Justice issued a judgment concerning the use of trademarks on internet auction sites (L’Oréal SA v eBay International GmbH, Case C-324/09).
No EU patent court after all?
Trybunał Sprawiedliwości UE sceptycznie wypowiedział się o zunifikowanym sądownictwie patentowym, które było nadzieją sektora farmaceutycznego na fachowe orzecznictwo. Wciąż mogą jednak powstać polskie wyspecjalizowane sądy patentowe.
Non-discrimination also applies to management board members
A member of a company management board may be regarded as an employee within the meaning of Council Directive 92/85 EEC of 19 October 1992. Removal of a pregnant woman from the management board may thus be successfully challenged as discriminatory.
