On 4 June 2018, one of the core concepts of copyright – the copyright work – was disputed at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The “cheese battle”, which started in 2015 at the Court of First Instance in Gelderland (the Netherlands) between HEKS’NKAAS (applicant) and ‘Witte Wievenkaas’ (defendant), resulted in a…
Whether taste constitutes protectable subject-matter under EU copyright law is one of the questions which the CJEU will have to answer in the near future. Indeed, the Dutch Court of Appeals of Arnhem-Leeuwarden has, in the course of an appeal procedure (only available in Dutch), turned to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling on the…
Have you ever given an idea to a friend, who then weaved that idea into their work? Did you feel that you should be recognised for your idea being included even though what you contributed was rather high level? Two weeks ago, in the UK judgment Nicholas Martin v Julia Kogan [2017] EWHC 2927 (IPEC),…
In this case the Supreme Court of Estonia analyses the legal issues involved in providing internet marketing services via Facebook and Google Adwords platforms. The court emphasises that the information, which was created during the performance of the contract of services, is not copyrightable subject matter. “Works” means only original results in the literary, artistic…
The Polish Supreme Court held that the creative (original) nature of a work protected by copyright may manifest itself in the creative, new and simplified combination of known elements e.g. insurance products. The condition of individuality of such a work will be met if it is unique from the statistical point of view, meaning that…
The Spanish Supreme Court has recently ruled on the concept of originality in respect of architectural works, and for the first time has established clear and specific guidelines for applying copyright protection to works of this nature. The situation which gave rise to the proceedings is very common in the architectural sector. An architect (the…
A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law The Supreme Court provided guidance on how to assess whether a work should be considered to be an adaptation, within the meaning of Section 4, paragraph 1 of the Swedish Copyright Act, or a new and independent work within the meaning of…
A full report of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law. In this interesting case, the Supreme Court of Estonia examined whether the answers given by the claimant in the framework of an interview are works protectable by copyright. Section 4(6) of the Copyright Act stipulates that the protection of a work by…
Can a scooter enjoy, contemporaneously, protection as a three-dimensional trademark (hereinafter 3D mark) and under copyright law? Apparently it can, at least according to the Court of Turin, which recently said so, with its decision no. 1900/2017 dated March 17, 2017. The case was started when Piaggio, maker of the scooter Vespa, asserted rights arising…
On 22 November 2016, the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam decided the case Pearson v. Bär Software (the judgment is only available in Dutch). The judgment seems remarkable in light of the CJEU’s earlier ruling in the Ryanair case. How do they compare? The Pearson case The Pearson v. Bär Software case considered a collection…
