Around the IP Blogs!

This Kitten is delighted to bring you the highlights from some recently published IP blogs.

Comparing Kats!

Marco Lo Bue analyzes on TrustinIP the preliminary ruling delivered by the Second Chamber of the CJEU regarding the case Biedrība ‘Autortiesību un komunicēšanās konsultāciju aģentūra – Latvijas Autoru apvienība’ v Konkurences padome, C-177/16, which involves the interpretation of article 102 TFEU in relation to a fine imposed by the Competition Authority to the Latvian collecting society for charging excessive rates. The CJEU ruled, as a criterion to determine whether the prices are unfair, the comparison of the rates “with those applicable in neighbouring Member States as well as with those applicable in other Member States adjusted in accordance with the PPP [purchasing power parity] index”. Provisional text can be reviewed here. 

Moving to designs, Erica Vaccarello and Fabio Angelini discuss on Kluwer Trademark Blog the preliminary ruling issued by the Second Chamber of the CJEU in relation to the case BMW AG v Acacia Srl, ECLI:EU:C:2017:550, C-433/16. In addition to confirming that the Community Designs Regulation is lex specialis regarding the jurisdiction rules established in the Brussels Regulation, the CJEU also ruled that article 5(3) of Brussels Regulation (now article 7(2) of the recast Regulation 1215/2012), which establishes that the Court is competent where the harmful event occurred or may occur, does not apply to actions for a declaration of non-infringement, abuse of dominant position or unfair competition. 

Turning to trademarks, over at MARQUES Class 46, there is a summary of the Decision No EX-17-4 of the Executive Director of EUIPO concerning communication by electronic means. Inter alia, it establishes that from 1 January 2018, EUTM applications and renewals “will be deemed not to have been received” unless it is not possible to submit them via e-filing due to a technical malfunction, in which case, they “may be submitted by fax in order to secure [their] filing date”. 

Last, but not least, Hugh Stephens reports on his blog (Hugh Stephens Blog) how harmful are the Remote Access Trojans (RATs), which are sometimes embedded in websites offering pirated goods. Once such malware (malicious software) is installed on a computer, it takes control over it, so the RAT intruder has access to recording functions, can delete files and activate the webcam, among other activities. According to the Asia Digital Alliance (ADA), the most affected users are in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. 

*Garfield and Baloo. The picture is courtesy of Verena von Bomhard.