A 152 page judgment was rendered on October 3, 2017 by the Irish High Court in Schrems II: DPC v Facebook Final.
Nor surprisingly, the court decided to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union to make...more
Even though the GDPR is a general regulation, some provisions are expressly addressing the specificities of the processing of personal data in the healthcare/life science sectors....more
The clock is ticking: on May 25, 2018, in less than a year from now, the General Data Protection Regulation (“the GDPR”) will apply in all Member States of the European Union (“EU”) and will replace the Directive 95/46/CE...more
New General Features of the GDPR -
Some of the GDPR general features may be of particular interest for companies in the healthcare/life science sectors....more
Jeff Koons is a well-known U.S. sculptor. In 2013, one of his “Balloon Dog” sculptures was purchased for $58.4 million dollars, the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by a living artist. Koons is also famous for...more
A decision rendered by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on March 2, 2017, affirming a General Court ruling and potentially ending a nearly twenty-year legal battle, is a reminder to trademark owners that what is generic in...more
3/20/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
OHIM ,
Res Judicata ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
The new (EU) 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will enter into force on 25 May 2018. Its scope is broader than that of the current 95/46/CE Directive, which means that more companies headquartered outside of...more
US companies with employees or clients in Switzerland will be interested to hear that the new Swiss-US Privacy Shield was approved on 11 January.
Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, its data...more
The peoples of France and the United States tend to view things very differently — Jerry Lewis, berets and processed cheese food, to name just a few. Law sometimes transcends this divide – for example, French and American...more
Reuters reported earlier this month that, according to three former employees, Yahoo Inc. had “complied with a classified U.S. government demand, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo mail accounts at the behest of the NSA...more
On September 8, 2016, the European Court of Justice rendered a controversial decision in GS Media v. Sanoma Media, which has been acclaimed by copyright holders and heavily criticized by internet companies....more
What the recent Amazon decision tells us -
On 28 July 2016, the European Court of Justice rendered a decision in a dispute between an Austrian Consumer Protection organization known as VKI (Verein für...more
9/6/2016
/ Amazon ,
Austria ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Google ,
Hungary ,
Luxembourg ,
Member State ,
Personal Data ,
Preamble ,
Spain ,
Subsidiaries ,
Terms and Conditions
On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom (UK) voted by way of an advisory referendum to leave the European Union. While the result will not take immediate legal effect, incoming Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated that...more
7/29/2016
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Bilateral Agreements ,
Bilateral Investment Treaties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Customs ,
Dispute Resolution ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Member State ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Referendums ,
The Swiss Model ,
Treaty of Lisbon ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
WTO
Article 29 Working Party on the EU-US Privacy Shield:
The EU’s Article 29 Working Party analyzed the final version of the Privacy Shield and issued a statement on July 26, 2016. What does this mean?...more
7/27/2016
/ Article 29 Working Party (WP29) ,
Binding Corporate Rules ,
Data Protection Authority ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
European Commission ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personal Data ,
Standard Contractual Clauses ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
On July 5, 2016, the European General Court rendered an interesting decision illustrating the broad protection enjoyed by those trademarks with “a reputation in the EU.”...more
Key takeaways:
.. The Privacy Shield will now go into effect.
.. The preliminary start date for companies to be certified under the Privacy Shield is August 1, 2016.
.. Expect more challenges to the Privacy Shield...more
On June 23, the citizens of the UK voted Yes to the question “Should the UK leave the European Union?” Here are some answers to questions that we are hearing from trademark owners....more
6/28/2016
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Exhaustion ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Treaty of Lisbon ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
In a few hours, citizens of the United Kingdom will have to answer Yes or No to the question: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”
A lot has been said on the...more
After the European Court of Justice invalidated Safe Harbor on October 6, ?2015, the Article 29 Working Party announced in an October 16, 2015 statement that US companies that were Safe Harbor certified had until the end of...more
6/20/2016
/ Article 29 Working Party (WP29) ,
CNIL ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Facebook ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Data Transfers ,
Ireland ,
Privacy Policy ,
Standard Contractual Clauses ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
On 29 February the European Commission released its draft adequacy decision about the proposed Privacy Shield, which is intended to replace the invalidated EU-US Safe Harbor. While Microsoft stated on April 11 that they...more
France is often presented as a country which is quite protective of IP owners, especially in the field of trademarks and copyright.? However, a recent decision rendered by the Paris District Court in relation to a portrait of...more
After the invalidation of the Safe Harbor by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) last November in the Schrems case, negotiations between the European Commission and US authorities led to a new agreement called the EU-US...more
After years of intense discussions, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was finally adopted on 14 April 2016.
The GDRP sets out uniform new rules in the field of data protection across the EU, rules that...more
The German carmaker, Porsche AG, which designed the iconic 911 Carrera sports car, owns the European Union and German “CARRERA” word mark, registered for “automobiles” in class 12. How far beyond automobiles does the...more
Three-dimensional trademarks have given rise to some interesting European Community decisions in the last several months (see, for example, our comments on the Kit Kat and Lego decisions). A decision rendered last week by the...more