AI-driven trademark abuse: Why “register first, use later” is becoming riskier
AI tools make it easier to identify unprotected brand names. For businesses, this can quickly become costly on platforms such as Amazon.
BGH “Mehmet Efendi”: No exhaustion from placing goods on the market in Turkey – association agreement does not extend the EEA
The BGH confirms: Placing EU trade mark goods on the market in Turkey does not trigger exhaustion within the EEA. The EEC–Turkey association framework does not extend the territorial scope of exhaustion; parallel imports into the EEA can be prohibited without the proprietor’s consent.
BGH “LA BIOSTHETIQUE”: German courts have jurisdiction for targeted online advertising – supplier disclosure may be disproportionate
The BGH aligns international jurisdiction for online trademark infringement with the target market: what matters is where the addressed consumers/traders are located—not the server location or the advertiser’s seat. It also held that disclosure of suppliers/prior owners may exceptionally be disproportionate where the infringement lies solely in the presentation of exhausted goods.
General Court: “Eco” may still shape the overall impression despite being descriptive
The General Court clarifies that descriptive elements can still matter in the comparison of signs—especially when placed at the beginning and drawing attention due to their length/position.
Review: Achim Bender, “Unionsmarke” in Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte
Our review of Achim Bender’s “Unionsmarke” was published in Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte, published 10/2025. The focus is on the book’s practical orientation, clear procedural structure, and the up-to-date content of the 6th edition.
AI & Branding: Europe’s brand work between “back to basics” and a GenAI leap
European marketing teams are putting branding back at the top for 2026—while GenAI is still rarely scaled broadly. At the same time, DPMA/EUIPO figures show sustained trademark activity.
German Federal Court of Justice: No title protection for names of fictional film characters without an independent “life” – “Moneypenny”
The BGH clarifies: A fictional character’s name may in principle enjoy title protection—but only if the character itself is perceived as an independently “designatable” work (part) under trademark law. For “Moneypenny”, the court found insufficient individualisation and no sufficient detachment from the underlying work.
GPTO enables EU-wide protection of regional products – new rights for craft and industrial goods
DPMA enables protection of geographical indications for industrial products such as knives, porcelain & watches – new EU regulation now in force.
No protection for Jägermeister’s well–known figurative trade mark “Hirschkopf”
Even for well–known trademarks, protection under trade mark law is only possible in so far as the opposing signs have at least a certain similarity.
“Bayern Bazi” Lacks Distinctiveness
The German Federal Patent Court upheld the refusal of the word mark “Bayern Bazi.” The combination of a geographical indication (“Bayern”) and a dialect term (“Bazi”) is perceived as a purely descriptive message (“particularly Bavarian/from Bavaria”), not as an indicator of commercial origin. Prior registrations did not help because the sign lacks a distinctive, imaginative character.