private consumers

Ban on generic environmental claims – greenwashing

Ban on generic environmental claims – greenwashing

On 6 March 2024, Directive (EU) 2024/825 was published, aimed at preventing so-called ‘greenwashing’ commercial practices, as well as the use of misleading labelling in relation to sustainability – for example, in brand names and/or company names, Known as the EmpCo Directive, once transposed into national law, it will apply to companies from 27 September 2026. It is vital that company owners and managers familiarise themselves now with these important rules, as dealt with in this blog. Among other things, the EmpCo Directive protects consumers against what are considered unfair commercial practices. This article will focus on one of these, namely the prospective ban on making any generic environmental claim about a product, brand or business, for which the trader is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance that is also relevant to the claim.

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Nail in the coffin for brands: Lack of distinctiveness – KÖLNER DOM

Nail in the coffin for brands: Lack of distinctiveness – KÖLNER DOM

It’s not easy to think of a concept – similar to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity – that, counterintuitively, involves the relativity of apparently fixed quantities. However, the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) may have produced such a phenomenon: their case law on the distinctiveness and thus the protectability of the names of famous buildings as trade marks. The two decisions have implications for a large number of commercially relevant cases, such as trade marks for fan merchandise or event trade marks. The lack of distinctiveness of a mark should therefore be carefully examined.

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Difference is crucial – HYLO

Difference is crucial – HYLO

When formulating a new brand, developers often modify the terms of certain significant features of a product or ingredient, with this modification resulting in a new word. It is no longer simply descriptive, as would be the case if the original word was used, and it can therefore be registered as a trade mark. Problems arise when competitors have already had the same idea! Especially if they have a prior trade mark using the same or similar content. So what can one do, in this situation, to avoid getting into trouble later on? An unpublished decision of the Oberlandesgericht München (Munich Higher Regional Court), obtained by the author, provides important guidance.

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Is it worth investing in weak brands? – Vegan

Is it worth investing in weak brands? – Vegan

Any company can opt to use a weak mark that directly highlights the special characteristics of its products or services, though such a mark may well be denied registration, because it is considered merely descriptive of products or services. But if it does make it into the trade mark register, it cannot be denied protection altogether. So is it worth taking the chance and investing in weak brands?

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Purchase of a counterfeit product from China – ROLEX

Purchase of a counterfeit product from China – ROLEX

You’ve bought a cheap watch on an online sales website from Turkey or China as a private consumer – but what do you do if you paid for it and you are asked to consent to the destruction of the watch without any compensation?

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