Guidance from the EU Courts in Certain Less Typical Situations in Trade Mark Law

Abstract The recent case-law of EU courts concerning less traditional trade marks in the European Union highlights some interesting issues, both in terms of legal procedures (especially about the courts’ power to change decisions rendered by the Boards of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, and where that power ends), and the types of trade marks involved. These include: (i) tactile trade marks, (ii) the protection of historically significant monuments through trade marks, and (iii) trade marks in the digital economy. Furthermore, long-established doctrinal discussions are having a real impact on recent case-law, for example in relation to so-called ‘feeble’ trade marks and the fixing of limits in the protection of 3D trade marks, including concerning parts of a product. In the following report, the author examines these aspects by looking at some of the lines of reasoning of the EU Courts.