May 25, 2016
GLEE – not the end of the Series (mark)
GLEE – not the end of the Series (mark)

The Court of Appeal has today held that the Series mark provision in the UK Trade Mark Act is compatible with EU law. In March we reported on the Court of Appeal’s decision in the trade mark conflict between Comic Enterprises and Twentieth Century Fox in relation to the latter’s Glee TV series and also on the secondary issue of the Court’s review of the validity under EU trade mark law of the registration of “a series of trade marks”.  If the Court had held in Twentieth Century Fox’s favour this would not just have impacted on the infringement in this case (because Comic Enterprises’ rights would have been invalid) but would have had very wide-ranging effects on UK trade mark law, future filing practice and potentially even past registered marks. Stobbs welcomes this decision, which ensures that this novel and cost-effective element of the UK trade mark system remains an attractive proposition for brand owners everywhere.

A more detailed Stobbs comment and analysis on this interesting issue will follow.


Found this article interesting today?
Send us your thoughts: