European Fashion Law

Is there a likelihood of confusion between the figurative signs pictured below (PANTHÉ and PANTHER) for “Clothing; Headgear” in Class 25? The EU General Court said "No". In doing so, they upheld a decision of the EUIPO Board of Appeal. The case is El Corte Inglés v EUIPO/MKR Design Srl (Case T-117/20). The judgment was published on 10 February 2021. So what happened? Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés opposed an EUTM application for the sign listed above (PANTHÉ) which was file

The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) clarified the assessment of a position mark's distinctiveness in Aktiebolaget Östgötatrafiken v Patent-och registreringsverket. You can read the full case here. This case confirms that position marks depend on consumer perception. In 2016, the Swedish bus company applied to register various signs including the one set out below as Swedish trade marks in class 39 for vehicles and transport: The applications included the descri

Branding and trade mark use can change in subtle (and not so subtle) ways over time. For example, it may be used in a different typeface, a different colour or together with another device mark. This creates a problem for trade mark holders as, in the EU if you have not used a trade mark for some of the goods and services for which is it is registered, once the initial 5 year grace period after registration is over, anybody may apply to revoke the trade mark on the basis that

We first wrote about the impact of Brexit over a year ago back in a pre pandemic era. Although we still don't have a deal. The outcomes outlined in that post are likely to apply from 1 January 2021 (i.e. the end of the Brexit transition period). It is no longer possible to file an EU mark and get it registered before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020). Therefore all new EU trade mark filings will need to be filed separately in the UK if trade mark rights in t

We first wrote about the impact of Brexit over a year ago back in a pre pandemic era. Although we still don't have a deal. The outcomes outlined in that post are likely to apply from 1 January 2020 (i.e. the end of the Brexit transition period). It is no longer possible to file an EU mark and get it registered before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020). Therefore all new EU trade mark filings will need to be filed separately in the UK if trade mark rights in t

The fashion industry has obtained enormous benefits from the protection offered by design law in the European Union. But to say that designs law is complicated would be a big understatement. This post introduces registered and unregistered designs and outlines the ways in which they can be used to protect the fashion industry. EU level design protection The European Union offers two types of design protection which apply across the whole of the EU, namely registered and unreg

The most obvious and important trade marks to register are your brand name together with any logo you have adopted. It is wise to get specialist advice both in terms of the marks you select and the precise goods and services you decide to protect. In addition to registering your core brand. As your business grows, or other symbols become more closely associated with your business, it is worth conducting a regular review to identify other possible trade marks to register. For

Trade marks give you the exclusive right to use a particular "sign" in your business for particular goods and services. They can potentially last forever provided that you keep using the trade mark and keep paying fees to the relevant intellectual property office. What is a sign? A sign is anything which distinguishes one business from other business. Commonly this is a word or a logo but in Europe, it can be anything provided it can be recorded in some form of permanent medi

It is common for business priorities to change and relationships to improve or sour over time. At some point you will want to end a distribution agreement, franchise or agency agreement. Ending a contract is not always that straightforward... The first step is to look at what the contract itself says but this is not the end of the process. There are many terms which are implied by different countries in Europe. France has particularly complex provisions. The notice period tha

Defining terms Definitions make contracts easier to read. They are often known as "defined terms" and are a mini dictionary at the start of a contract. This means that, for example, rather than repeating the specific trade mark which is licensed, the "Trade Mark" is defined at the start and then the contract can simply refer to the Trade Mark in the rest of the document. Defined terms can save a lot of reading time and improve simplicity but if you get the definition wrong,

Every time you order goods from a factory or sell your products to a wholesaler, shop or end consumer, you are entering into a contract. You don't need to have anything in writing in order to create a legally binding contract but it is helpful to do so as it means that everyone is on the same page as far as the commercial deal is concerned. Pre-contractual liability Many EU Member States, such as Italy and France, have specific laws that apply even before you enter into a for

In order to understand European fashion law, it is first important to get to grips with the basics of European law. The European Union has three types of laws: Regulations which automatically apply across all EU countries (although it is possible for them to implement the regulation in national legislation). Directives which set criteria which EU countries must meet in their national legislation. Local laws where the EU countries have freedom to determine the law which applie

The European Union or EU is the political and economic union of 28 European countries who are known as "Member States". The EU has helped to shape the laws across the majority of Europe over the last 50 years. EU law is based on four fundamental principles. All EU laws have one or more of these principles at their heart: Free movement of goods Free movement of people Free movement of services Free movement of capital The European Union has three main elements: the Parliament,

Counterfeits are sometimes seen as a sign of success. They show that your business is doing well enough for someone to bother copying it. However, once the initial flash of pride is over, the reality of having someone not only cashing in on years of hard work but also damaging the brand's reputation starts to sink in. Counterfeits, knock offs and close copies are all closely related and cause varying degrees of headaches. The amount of money at stake can potentially be huge.

Fashion and retail have faced major disruption from the Internet. Europe currently leads the way on e-commerce and is a major market for online sales. E-commerce is expected to represent over 16% of global retail sales by 2021. The business models range from (i) “try now, pay later” - curated products are sent to potential purchasers; (ii) to “click & collect” - goods can be collected and returned from convenient locations. Another approach is typified by Rent the Runway whic

Franchising, licensing, distribution or agency relationships can help you break into new markets or diversify into new products. It's common for fashion brands to diversify from clothing and footwear into perfumes, sunglasses and cosmetics but different products have different methods of manufacture and routes to market. Each of these options relies on a solid contract which is easy to understand and enforce. There are two fundamental keys to making these arrangements a succe