Fromm/Nordemann: Copyright law. Commentary on Copyright Act in 12th edition and 50th anniverary – with various contributions from BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT

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The 12th edition of the renowned commentary has now been published by Prof. Dr. Axel Nordemann, Prof. Dr. Jan Bernd Nordemann and Prof. Dr. Christian Czychowski and (with the exception of the section on copyright crime) has been revised exclusively by BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT lawyers.

This standard commentary for copyright practice includes all statutory innovations – including the Knowledge Society Copyright Act (UrhWissG) enacted on 30 June 2017 – as well as current German and European jurisprudence. The Publishing Act (VerlG) is also commented as is the Portability Ordinance, the first EU regulation in the field of copyright law. New additions include comments on Open Source Software as well as on plagiarism.

Editors from BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT:

Dr. Thomas W. Boddien
Prof. Dr. Christian Czychowski
Dr. Andreas Dustmann, LL.M.
Dr. Sebastian Engels
Prof. Dr. Axel Nordemann
Prof. Dr. Jan Bernd Nordemann, LL.M.
Dr. Anke Nordemann-Schiffel
Dr. Martin Schaefer
Dr. Volker Schmitz-Fohrmann, M. Jur.
Dr. Julian Waiblinger
Dr. Martin Wirtz

You can read an interview about the needs for the revision after just four years on the Beck Verlag website here.

Dr Martin Schaefer takes a wider view of patent law: “Who decides what FRAND is?” (GRUR 6/2018)

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The close collaboration between patent lawyers and solicitors at BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT also makes it possible for two copyright specialists, amongst others Dr. Martin Schaefer to make a critical assessment of one of the most difficult questions of late in patent and competition law regarding copyright. After all, in copyright, there has long been a situation of licensing for mass use similar to that which has now moved into focus in patent law as regarding standard essential patents: “Who decides what FRAND is”? How can standard essential patents be licensed and what are the so-called fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms?

The article presents thoughts on how mechanisms of collective management of copyright could be applied to solve this problem in patent law (GRUR 2018, edition 6, p582 et seq)

For GRUR subscribers the article can be accessed here.

Claim by Deutsche Post AG rejected

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Dr Florian Schwab reports on the complex trademark decision of the European Court of Justice from 20 February 2018 T-118/16)  in the online magazine World Trademark Review.

The Court rejected the likelihood of confusion with the common element POST and rejected the claim brought by Deutsche Post AG.

In a detailed discussions, in particular regarding similarity of word elements, the Court found that the mark overall was sufficiently different due to the preceding word element BE and that the union trademark registration was valid.

Read the entire article here. This article appeared on 13.03.2018 in WTR Daily (component of World Trademark Review).

German Unfair Competition Act (UWG) regulates entries on member structure – Dr Rudolf Böckenholt explains the details in his recent GRUR-Prax article

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In Edition 5/2018 (p. 134), Dr Rudolf Böckenholt explains the decision of the Saarland Higher Regional Court which held that, in accordance with §8(3)(2) UWG, associations must set out their active legitimation as regards member structure without giving rise to an actual presumption from previous actions against third parties. 

The magazine GRUR-Prax can be accessed from the publisher. More details can be found at.

Protection of 3D marks – Dr. Florian Schwab explains current confectionery case

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Commenting on the online portal of the World Trademark Review, solicitor Dr Florian Schwab explains two recent decisions of the Federal Supreme Court on the protection of 3D marks in the case of the square packaging used by Ritter Sport chocolate and Dextro Energy glucose.

The Federal Supreme Court reversed the restrictive approach applied by the Federal Patent Court and confirmed the liberal approach as regards the patentability of three-dimensional marks. Corresponding judgements with reasoning are still awaited. The Federal Supreme Court has up to now only released a press statements.

Read the entire article here.

This article was published on 05.01.2018 in WTR Daily (component of World Trademark Review).

On Brexit and Patents – Article in ‘European Biotechnology. Life Science and Industry Magazine’

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Dr. Markus Engelhard and Dr. Dennis Kretschmann offer their thoughts on the subject of “IP: Brexit and patents” in an article for online English-language magazine ‘European Biotechnology. Life Science and Industry Magazine’.

Is the unitary European patent on its way? How will Brexit affect the European patent system? The two experts explore this and other interesting questions in their article.

The article is available to view here.

Article “Patent Proceedings in the US” by Dr D. Kretschmann and Dr M. Rüberg published.

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The article “Patent Proceedings in the US – Patent Holders can no longer choose their Court” by solicitor Dr Michael Rüberg and patent attorney Dr Dennis Kretschmann has now appeared in the December edition of ICC Germany Magazine by the International Chamber of Commerce (page 48, 05/2017).

The background: The US Supreme Court has limited the free choice of jurisdiction regarding patent claims. Companies domiciled or with branch in the US can no longer choose the place of jurisdiction. In their article, the authors explain the impact on German and American companies. They draw the following conclusion: “The patent landscape in the US has been subject to significant change for years. This has meant that it has become much more difficult to obtain patents in the US, to defend them against infringements and to enforce against parties in breach. The decision is a reaction against the abuse of the US system by patent trolls. On the other hand, many of the measures also impair the efficient response to patent infringements from legitimate patent holders.”
The entire article as well and the ICC edition can be downloaded here.

“New Biotechnology” (2017) with contribution from Dr J. Krauss and Dr D. Kuttenkeuler.

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Patent Attorneys Dr Jan B. Krauss and Dr David Kuttenkeuler have contributed the article “Intellectual property rights derived from academic research and their role in the modern bioeconomy – A guide for scientists” in the international specialist magazine “New Biotechnology“. In the article, the authors show how Intellectual Property (IP) represents the currency of the biotechnology industry and how a basic knowledge of IP can help scientists to exploit their research findings.
“New Biotechnology” is published by the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) and appears every two months. It covers subjects from the field of biotechnology as well as associated aspects in politics, finance and industry. The article can be purchased online and downloaded here.

“Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte” (7-8/2017) with contribution from Dr J. Krauss and Dr D. Kuttenkeuler.

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The two BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT Patent Attorneys Dr Jan B. Krauss and Dr David Kuttenkeuler have contributed an article entitled “Current Developments in Biotechnology” to the German-language publication “Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte” (7-8/2017, page 306 et seq): Suspension of EPA proceedings which affect plants (or animals), which are essentially included in biological proceedings”.
In the artical, the authors point out that the grant clearly exceeds the authority of the President as Executive Organ of the European Patent Agreement (EPA) as well as the applicable legal situation. They also explain possibilities with which those affected can and should resist such a suspension. “Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte” can be subscribed here.

Dr Florian Schwab in WTR Daily on the case “EXHAUST-GARD”.

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BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT lawyer and trade mark law expert Dr Florian Schwab has published the article “No protection for EXHAUST-GARD” in the online portal of the specialist magazine World Trademark Review on 2 June 2017.

The article discusses the recently delivered decision of the European Court of Justice from 27 April 2017 (T-622/15).  In its judgement, the Court rejects the possibility of protecting the mark EXHAUST-GARD for diesel emission fluid in class 01. As both courts at lower instances found, the Court held that it was of purely descriptive character. In particular, English speakers with necessary knowledge would immediately connect the word mark (which is comprise of the word “exhaust” and “g(u)ard”) with protection from dangerous emissions produced from combustion in diesel motors, in particular with the reduction of nitrous oxide content in these emissions. “The decision of the European Court of Justice is therefore less surprising than the vehement defence of the registration over three instances,” Dr Florian Schwab comments. Those subscribing to the WTR Daily can see the entire article here.