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The Coexistence of Trade Mark Laws and Rights on the Internet, and the Impact of Geolocation Technologies

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Abstract

This paper reexamines the current legal landscape regarding the protection of trade marks and other industrial property rights in signs on the Internet. It is based on a comparative analysis of EU and national laws, in particular, German, U.S., and U.K. law. It starts with a short restatement of the principles governing trade mark conflicts that occur within a particular jurisdiction (part 2) and proceeds to the regulation of transnational disputes (part 3). This juxtaposition yields two basic approaches. Whereas trade mark conflicts within closed legal systems are generally adjudicated according to a binary either/or logic, transnational disputes are and should indeed be solved in a way that leads to a fair coexistence of conflicting trade mark laws and rights under multiple laws. This paper explains how geolocation technologies can alleviate the implementation of the principle of fair coexistence in concrete cases.

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Notes

  1. For reasons of simplicity, I use the term “trade mark” for both trade marks proper and other industrial property rights in signs, in particular company names, unless I expressly distinguish between different categories of rights.

  2. See, for example Gucci Am., Inc. v. Hall & Assoc., 135 F. Supp. 2d 409, 421–22 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (“the … Web is not geographically constrained … Web publishers are without any means to limit access to their sites based on the geographic location of particular Internet users.”); Wichard (2005), p. 262; Bettinger and Thum (2000a), pp. 162, 164; Johnson (2014), at fn. 308 (“For example, this Article assumes that the Internet cannot be divided or compartmentalized into geographies. Future advancements may prove otherwise”).

  3. See Recital 2, Art. 1(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark, OJ L 78, 1 (codified version, in the following: CTMR).

  4. Article 8, 53(1) CTMR; Art. 4 Directive 2008/95/EC of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (codified version), OJ L 299, 25 (in the following: TMD); Sec. 9 German Trade Mark Act. On the principle of priority see ECJ Case C-245/02 Anheuser-Busch Inc., EU:C:2004:717, paras. 98–99 (principle of priority as a basic principle of trade mark and IP law); CJEU Case C-561/11 Fédération Cynologique Internationale, EU:C:2013:91, paras. 32 et seq.; CJEU Case C-491/14 Rosa dels Vents Assessoria SL, EU:C:2015:161, paras. 21 et seq.

  5. See Art. 17 TRIPS; Art. 3, 6–7 TMD; Art. 7, 12–13 CTMR. On the trade mark public domain see Peukert (2012a), p. 23 et seq.

  6. ECJ Case C-3/03 P Matratzen Concord, EU:C:2004:233, paras. 40–42; ECJ Case C-421/04 Matratzen Concord, EU:C:2006:164, paras. 22–32; for German court practice see Ingerl and Rohnke (2010), Sec. 8 German Trade Mark Act, paras. 85 et seq. The pending revision of the EU trademark system will stick to this approach; see Amendment 22, European Parliament legislative resolution of 25 February 2014 on the proposal for a directive to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (recast), COM(2013)162 – 2013/0089(COD) (rejection of the Commission proposal to require examination of grounds for non-registrability in other Member States where a trade mark in a foreign language is translated or transcribed in an official language of the Member States).

  7. For the OHIM see Max Planck Study (2011), p. 141.

  8. See USPTO (2015), § 1207.01(b)(vi); Palm Bay Imports, Inc. v. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Maison Fondee En 1772, 396 F.3d 1369, 1377 (Fed.Cir. 2005); Otokoyama Co. Ltd. v. Wine of Japan Import, Inc., 175 F.3d 266 (2nd Cir. 1999) (otokoyama not eligible for trade mark protection in the U.S. because of its longstanding use as a designation for sake by many traders in Japan).

  9. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 23/02, 2005 GRUR Int. pp. 70–72 – Gazoz (Art. 12(c) CTMR); Hamburg Court of Appeal Case 3 U 210/02, GRUR-RR 2006, 400 – STOLITSCHNAJA (Art. 6(c) TMD); ECJ Case C-421/04 Matratzen Concord, EU:C:2006:164, para. 31 (registration of foreign terms does not necessarily mean that all uses have to be prohibited). See also German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 100/11, 2013 GRUR p. 631 para. 64 – AMARULA/Marulablu; German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 114/13, 2015 GRUR p. 587 paras. 22–30 – PINAR; CJEU Case C-147/14 Loutfi Management, EU:C:2015:420, para. 25.

  10. CJEU Case C-235/09 DHL Express France, EU:C:2011:238, paras. 38–39, 43–44, 46–48, 50. See also Düsseldorf Court of Appeal Case I-20 U 5/14 – Combit/Commit (request for preliminary ruling).

  11. Article 54 EPC; Sec. 3 German Patent Act.

  12. See, e.g. Sec. 1(1) and Sec. 3(1) German Utility Models Act.

  13. See Rehbinder and Peukert (2015), para. 233; Glöckner and Kur (2014), pp. 29, 31.

  14. For U.S. law see In re Trade-Mark Cases, 100 U.S. 82 (1879); Lemley and Dogan (2007). The distinction between rights in innovations and in signs in the EU is less clear. See CJEU Case C-323/09 Interflora, EU:C:2011:604, para. 38.

  15. Beebe (2004).

  16. For U.S. law see 15 U.S.C. §§ 1057(b), 1115(a); Dawn Donut Co. v. Hart's Food Stores, Inc., 267 F.2d 358, 362 (2nd Cir. 1959); McCarthy (2014), § 26:38.

  17. Article 54 CTMR, Art. 9 TMD; CJEU Case C 482/09 Budějovický Budvar, EU:C:2011:605, paras. 40–50.

  18. Section 22 German Trade Mark Act; CJEU Case C-65/12 Leidseplein Beheer and Hendrikus de Vries, EU:C:2014:49, para. 60.

  19. For Germany see Sec. 22(1) No. 1 Act on the Integration of the Saarland in the Area of Industrial Property Law, 30.6.1959, Bundesgesetzblatt I, p. 388; Secs. 1, 4, 30 Act on the Extension of Intellectual Property Rights (Erstreckungsgesetz), 23.4.1992, Bundesgesetzblatt I p. 938.

  20. Article 12 lit. a CTMR, Art. 6(1)(a) TMD.

  21. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 174/07, 2010 GRUR p. 738, paras. 18–19 – Peek & Cloppenburg I; CJEU Case C 482/09 Budějovický Budvar, EU:C:2011:605, paras. 72–82 (honest concurrent use of two identical trade marks designating identical products under U.K. and EU law). See also ECJ Case C-245/02 Anheuser-Busch Inc., EU:C:2004:717, paras. 80–81.

  22. On the separate exclusive zone of earlier use-rights of merely local reach vis-à-vis younger Community trade marks see Art. 8(4), 111(1) CTMR and CJEU Case C 96/09 P Anheuser-Busch, EU:C:2011:189, paras. 156–163; CFI Joined cases T-318/06 to T-321/06 Alberto Jorge Moreira da Fonseca, EU:T:2009:77, paras. 32 et seq.; Austrian Supreme Court, Case 4 Ob 148/14i, 2015 GRUR Int. pp. 718, 720 – Fashion One. On separate zones of use-rights under German law see German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 174/07, 2010 GRUR 738 para. 19 – Peek & Cloppenburg I. For U.S. law see McCarthy (2014), §§ 26:40, 25:53.

  23. See ECJ Case C-10/89 SA CNL-Sucal, EU:C:1990:359, paras. 13–18 (both independent proprietors of national marks “HAG” are entitled to prohibit the unauthorized importation of coffee labeled “HAG”); Dudley v. Healthsource Chiropractic, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 377, 394 (W.D.N.Y. 2012).

  24. Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs, Case C-10/89 CNL-Sucal, EU:C:1990:359, para. 25.

  25. With regard to German re-unification see German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 24/93, 1996 GRUR p. 897 – Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik; regarding the EC Common Market see ECJ Case C-192/73 Van Zuylen frères, EU:C:1974:72, paras. 12–15; regarding online communication Allard Enterprises, Inc. v. Advanced Programming Resources, Inc., 249 F.3d 564, 575 (6th Cir. 2001).

  26. See CJEU Case C 482/09 Budějovický Budvar, EU:C:2011:605, para. 83 (honest concurrent use under U.K. and EU law); CJEU Case C-65/12 Leidseplein Beheer and Hendrikus de Vries; EU:C:2014:49, paras. 27 et seq. (earlier TM coexisting with younger TM with reputation). For U.S. law see Nupp (2003); Johnson (2014), p. 1266 et seq. with further references.

  27. Cf. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 41/08, 2011 GRUR p. 623, paras. 40 et seq. – Peek & Cloppenburg II (the registration of a nationwide trade mark containing the common company name unfairly prejudices the equilibrium between the homonymous companies).

  28. Dudley v. Healthsource Chiropractic, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 377, 394 (W.D.N.Y. 2012) (national advertising activities that cannot reasonably be geographically restricted); Sec. 30(2) No. 2 Act on the Extension of Intellectual Property Rights (Erstreckungsgesetz) (regulating the coexistence of trade mark rights after German re-unification).

  29. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 174/07, 2010 GRUR p. 738 para. 18 – Peek & Cloppenburg I.

  30. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 174/07, 2010 GRUR p. 738 para. 37 – Peek & Cloppenburg I (both honestly concurring parties have to use sufficiently clear disclaimers); Johnson (2014), p. 1293.

  31. Number of contracting parties of the Paris Convention as of 12 March 2015, see http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ShowResults.jsp?lang=en&treaty_id=2.

  32. Glöckner and Kur (2014), p. 31.

  33. Cf. Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch) (dispute about “BDO” between Binder Dijker Otte & Co in Europe and Banco De Oro from the Philippines); Euromarket Designs Incorporated v. Peters & Anor [2000] EWHC 453 (Ch) (dispute about “Crate & Barrel” as a name of a chain of stores in the U.S. and a store in Ireland called “Create & Barrel”, which the defendant claimed to have devised independently upon the idea that “I had been working in pubs all my life lifting crates and changing barrels.”); German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 163/02, 2005 GRUR p. 431 – HOTEL MARITIME (dispute between German hotel chain “MARITIM” and a Copenhagen hotel called “HOTEL MARITIME”).

  34. ECJ Case C-10/89 SA CNL-Sucal, EU:C:1990:359 (Hag Germany v. Hag Belgium); Harrods Ltd. v. Sixty Internet Domain Names, 302 F.3d 214 (4th Cir. 2002) (Harrods UK v. Harrods South America); see also Ohly (2005), p. 249.

  35. See Bettinger and Thum (2000b), p. 287 et seq., 302 (“consideration should be given to restricting absolute trade mark protection and applying a coexistence model restricted by an unfair-use proviso.”)

  36. See cf. Goldsmith (1998).

  37. Chander (2009), p. 312 (“But with respect to mandatory law, democracy demands glocalization, at least until ‘We the People’ elect to subject ourselves to foreign rules.”)

  38. See Wichard (2005), p. 257 et seq.

  39. See Peukert (2012b).

  40. Peukert (2012b), pp. 193–194 with further references.

  41. See CJEU Case C-523/10 Wintersteiger, EU:C:2012:220, paras. 24 and 25 and CJEU Case 170/12 Peter Pinckney, EU:C:2013:635, paras. 45–46; Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Chuckleberry Publishing, Inc., 939 F.Supp. 1032, 1039–40 (S.D.N.Y. 1996) (“While this Court has neither the jurisdiction nor the desire to prohibit the creation of Internet sites around the globe, it may prohibit access to those sites in this country.”)

  42. See Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. iCraveTV, 2000 WL 255989 (2000 W.D.Pa.) (injunction against online public performance in the U.S. only); Pichler (2008), para. 974. See also Art. 2:604 CLIP Principles (2013) (“Scope of injunctions (1) When a court has applied a law pursuant to Article 3:601, an injunction issued by a court of competent jurisdiction shall concern only activities affecting intellectual property rights protected under the national law or laws applied by the court.”); AIPPI (2001).

  43. Art. 3:603(1) CLIP Principles (2013); § 321 ALI Principles (2008) and note 5 to § 204 ALI Principles (application of only one law addresses concerns that the defendant’s residence may be an “information haven”); Ginsburg (1998), pp. 18–19.

  44. See infra, 3.2.1.

  45. Art. 3:603(3), Art. 2:604(2) CLIP Principles (2013) (scope of injunction limited in that case); Glöckner and Kur (2014), p. 35.

  46. On horizontality in international law see Crawford (2012), p. 485.

  47. Art. 6(3) Paris Convention (in the following: PC); German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 163/02, 2005 GRUR p. 431 – HOTEL MARITIME; Japanese Supreme Court Case H6-(Ne)-3272, 29 IIC pp. 331, 334 (1998) – BBS Wheels III; Barcelona.com v. Excelentisimo Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, 330 F.3d 617, 628 (4th Cir. 2003).

  48. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 75/10, 2012 GRUR p. 621 – Oscar; WIPO (2001), para. 9.01. But see Ohly (2005), pp. 247 and 254; Bettinger and Thum (2000b), p. 287; Glöckner and Kur (2014), p. 29 (stressing the differences between conflicts of norms and conflicts of rights).

  49. See Art. 15(2) WIPO (2001) (user “owns a right in the sign” in another Member State or she “is permitted to use the sign” under the law of another Member State to which she has a close connection); Art. 4(a)(ii) UDRP (1999) (“rights” or “legitimate interests” of the registrant).

  50. Supra 2.2.1–2.2.2.

  51. ECJ Case C-245/02 Anheuser-Busch, EU:C:2004:717, para. 82. See also Art. 6 TMD and 12 CTMR (honest practices) and CJEU Case C-558/08 Portakabin Ltd and Portakabin BV, EU:C:2010:416, para. 69. See also Art. 7 TMD, 13 CTMR (legitimate reasons for the proprietor to oppose commercialization of goods with regard to which the rights in the trade mark have been exhausted).

  52. CJEU Case C 482/09 Budějovický Budvar, EU:C:2011:605, para. 34; CJEU Case C-65/12 Leidseplein Beheer and Hendrikus de Vries, EU:C:2014:49, para. 46; Kur (2014).

  53. According to Art. 10ter(1) PC, the Paris Union countries have to assure to nationals of the other countries of the Union “appropriate legal remedies effectively to repress all the acts referred to” in Art. 10bis PC.

  54. See also Art. 12(1) CTMR, Art. 6(1) TMD.

  55. Pflüger (2015), pp. 298–301.

  56. See Grupo Gigante SA De CV v. Dallo & Co., Inc., 391 F.3d 1088, 1099–1100 (9th Cir. 2004); ITC Ltd. v. Punchgini, Inc., 482 F.3d 135, 162–163 (2nd Cir. 2007).

  57. Bodenhausen (1969), pp. 143–145; Pflüger (2015), p. 298.

  58. Schultz and Ridi (2015). On the concept of comity in transnational IP disputes see also Peukert (2013), PRE:C17-8. On international comity as the basis for the doctrine of foreign equivalents in U.S. trade mark law see Enrique Bernat F., S.A. v. Guadalajara, Inc., 210 F.3d 439, 445 (5th Cir. 2000); McCarthy (2014), § 12:41 (recognition of a generic word in any language as a mark would create a barrier to international trade).

  59. Litecubes, LLC v. Northern Light Products, Inc., 523 F.3d 1353, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2008).

  60. See Art. 4, 62, 63 Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, OJ L 351/1 (in the following: Brussels Regulation Ibis); Art. 2:101 CLIP Principles (2013). As regards the competence of the court at the place of activity see CJEU Case C-523/10 Wintersteiger, EU:C:2012:220, para. 37; Article 93(5) CTMR; CJEU Case 360/12 Coty Germany, EU:C:2014:1318, paras. 26 et seq.; § 204(1) ALI Principles (2008) (where the defendant “has substantially acted, or taken substantial preparatory acts, to initiate or further an alleged infringement”).

  61. Cf. Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 247 et seq. (1981). Forum non conveniens is not applicable in the context of the EU rules on jurisdiction; see ECJ Case C-281/02 Owusu, EU:C:2005:120.

  62. CJEU Case 360/12 Coty Germany, EU:C:2014:1318.

  63. On the duality of linking factors under Art. 7(2) Brussels Regulation Ibis see CJEU Case C-523/10 Wintersteiger, EU:C:2012:220, paras. 19, 21; see also § 304(2) ALI Principles (2008) (where a person’s activities “give rise to an infringement claim”); Art. 2:202 CLIP Principles (2013).

  64. CJEU Case 170/12 Peter Pinckney, EU:C:2013:635, para. 43.

  65. CJEU Case C-523/10 Wintersteiger, EU:C:2012:220, para. 46; Austrian Supreme Court Case No. 4Ob82/12f, IIC 2013, 992, 997–8 – Wintersteiger III (google.de is rarely used by Austrian consumers).

  66. CJEU Case 170/12 Peter Pinckney, EU:C:2013:635, paras. 44, 47.

  67. See Wichard (2005), p. 262; Bettinger and Thum (2000a), p. 164; Kur (2005), p. 175 et seq.; Glöckner and Kur (2014), pp. 29–30; Nupp (2003), p. 620.

  68. Upper Administrative Court of North Rhine Westphalia, Case 13 A 2018/11, juris; Svantesson (2007); Trimble (2012), p. 586 et seq.; King (2011), 66 pp. et seq.; critical Hoeren (2007); Winkelmüller and Kessler (2009); Pichler (2008), para. 841.

  69. I owe this distinction to a remark made by Dan Svantesson.

  70. ALI Principles (2008), pp. 50–51, 56; Trimble (2012), p. 589; Svantesson (2004); Pichler (2008), para. 841; Garnett (2005), p. 947; If the defendant employs geolocation and access controls, she does not violate a court order (injunction) that was based on a different trade mark law; see Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Chuckleberry Publishing, Inc., 939 F.Supp. 1032, 1039–1040 (S.D.N.Y. 1996).

  71. Svantesson (2004), p. 132; Reidenberg (2005), p. 1962 (widespread availability of geolocation tools “shifts the burden from demonstrating that a jurisdiction was targeted to showing that reasonable efforts were made to avoid contact with the jurisdiction.”); King (2011), p. 88 et seq.; Fawcett and Torremans (2011), paras. 10.20–21 (“targeting the world”).

  72. German Federal Supreme Court Case VI ZR 23/09, NJW 2010, 1752 para. 17 – New York Times; Fawcett and Torremans (2011), para. 10.72; Torremans (2014), pp. 386–387.

  73. Chander (2009), fn. 190.

  74. Dinwoodie et al. (2009), pp. 207–208.

  75. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 163/02, 2005 GRUR pp. 431, 433 – HOTEL MARITIME; German Federal Supreme Court Case VI ZR 23/09, 2010 NJW p. 1752, paras. 16–29 – New York Times, citing High Court of Australia Dow Jones and Company Inc. v. Gutnick [2002] HCA 56; French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) Case 06-20230, 13 July 2010; French Supreme Court Case 11-26822, 22 January 2014; on U.S. law see McCarthy (2014), § 32:45.50; Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783 (1984) (the creation of intentional effects suffices to establish personal jurisdiction); Art. 2:202 CLIP Principles (2013); §204(2) ALI Principles (2008).

  76. ALI Principles (2008), 49; Kur (2013), Art. 2:202 CLIP Principles, C17.

  77. German Federal Supreme Court Case VI ZR 23/09, 2010 NJW p. 1752 para. 14 – New York Times.

  78. See Art. 6(1) Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II), OJ L 199/40 (in the following: Rome II Regulation: “The law applicable to a non-contractual obligation arising out of an act of unfair competition shall be the law of the country where competitive relations or the collective interests of consumers are, or are likely to be, affected.”); German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 131/12, 2014 MMR p. 605, para. 36 – englischsprachige Pressemitteilung. See also Art. 6(3)(a) Rome II Regulation (“The law applicable to a non-contractual obligation arising out of a restriction of competition shall be the law of the country where the market is, or is likely to be, affected.”)

  79. See Sec. 34(1) Austrian Private International Law Act (Bundesgesetz über das internationale Privatrecht (IPR-Gesetz)) (“Das Entstehen, der Inhalt und das Erlöschen von Immaterialgüterrechten sind nach dem Recht des Staates zu beurteilen, in dem eine Benützungs- oder Verletzungshandlung gesetzt wird.”)

  80. Articles 5(2), 7(8) Berne Convention; Subafilms v. MGM-Pathe Communications, 24 F.3d 1088, 1097 footnote 15 (9th Cir. 1994) (en banc) (“ambiguous concept”).

  81. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 75/10, 2012 GRUR p. 621 para. 34 – Oscar.

  82. See Glöckner and Kur (2014), p. 34.

  83. Article 16(1) TRIPS; Art. 5(1) TMD.

  84. See Arts. 2, 3, 6 s. 1 WIPO (2001); CJEU Case C-324/09 L'Oréal and Others, EU:C:2011:474, paras. 62–64; CJEU Case 173/11 Football Dataco, EU:C:2012:642, paras. 37 et seq. (copyright); Austrian Supreme Court Case 4Ob82/12f, 44 IIC pp. 992, 996–998 (2013) – Wintersteiger III; German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 75/10, 2012 GRUR p. 621 paras. 34–55 – Oscar; Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch), para. 106; Art. 3:602 CLIP Principles (2013); Kur (2013), Art. 3:602 CLIP Principles C03; but see Cologne District Court Case 6 W 161/07, 2008 GRUR-RR p. 71 (denying infringement jurisdiction).

  85. Wichard (2005), p. 261; Kur (2005), p. 179 (common sense compromise); Kur (2013), Art. 3:602 CLIP Principles, C05.

  86. CJEU Case 324/09 L'Oréal/eBay International, ECLI:EU:C:2011:474, para. 65; Austrian Supreme Court Case 4Ob82/12f, 44 IIC pp. 992, 996–998 (2013) – Wintersteiger III; French Supreme Court Case 11-26822, 22 January 2014; Fawcett and Torremans (2011), paras. 10.29–30.

  87. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 75/10, 2012 GRUR p. 621 para. 36 – Oscar; German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 131/12, 2014 MMR p. 605 para. 31 – englischsprachige Pressemitteilung.

  88. But see German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 131/12, 2014 MMR p. 605 para. 46 – englischsprachige Pressemitteilung (stressing that the defendant did not employ technological measures to prevent German consumers from accessing the website in question).

  89. Cf. Euromarket Designs Incorporated v. Peters & Anor [2000] EWHC 453 (Ch); German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 163/02, 2005 GRUR pp. 431, 433 – HOTEL MARITIME.

  90. Cf. Art. 28(1) Brussels Ibis Regulation.

  91. Torremans (2014), pp. 386–387.

  92. Cf. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 163/02, 2005 GRUR p. 431 – HOTEL MARITIME.

  93. Article 5 TMD; CJEU Case C-329/09 Interflora, EU:C:2011:859.

  94. Supra 2.2.2.; Nupp (2003), pp. 652 et seq.

  95. Articles 9(i), 10(i) WIPO (2001); Art. 4(a)(ii) UDRP (“rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name”). See also Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch), para. 190 (“Whether the defendant has a sufficient justification for using the sign complained of.”)

  96. Article 6 s. 2 WIPO (2001).

  97. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 75/10, 2012 GRUR p. 621 para. 36 – Oscar.

  98. See supra note 14.

  99. CJEU Case C-228/03 The Gillette Company and Gillette Group Finland Oy, EU:C:2005:177, para. 49; CJEU Case C-558/08 Portakabin Ltd and Portakabin BV, EU:C2010:416, para. 67; CJEU Case C-323/09 Interflora, EU:C:2011:604, para. 57.

  100. Cf. ECJ Case C-245/02 Anheuser-Busch I, EU:C:2004:717, paras. 82 and 83; CJEU Case C-558/08 Portakabin Ltd and Portakabin BV, EU:C:2010:416, paras. 34–35, 67; CJEU Case C-329/09 Interflora, EU:C:2011:604, para. 44.

  101. Cf. the jurisprudence of the ECJ concerning national unfair competition law as a proportionate limit to fundamental freedoms: ECJ Case 238/89 Pall, EU:C:1990:473, paras. 17 et seq.; ECJ Case 457/05 Schutzverband der Spirituosen-Industrie, EU:C:2007:576, para. 27; Radeideh (2005), p. 29 et seq.

  102. Cf. CJEU Case C-558/08 Portakabin Ltd and Portakabin BV, EU:C:2010:416, para. 69.

  103. CJEU Case C-323/09 Interflora, EU:C:2011:604, para. 50. On U.S. law see Johnson (2014), p. 1296.

  104. ECJ Case C-3/03 P Matratzen Concord, EU:C:2004:233, para. 28–29.

  105. ECJ Case C-245/02, 16 November 2004 Anheuser-Busch I, EU:C:2004:717, para. 83; Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch), para. 188; Dudley v. Healthsource Chiropractic, Inc., 883 F. Supp. 2d 377, 391 (W.D.N.Y. 2012).

  106. Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs Case C-10/89 CNL-Sucal (“Hag II”), EU:C:1990:112, para. 22.

  107. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 75/10, 2012 GRUR p. 621 para. 36 – Oscar; Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch), para. 184.

  108. Nupp (2003), p. 654.

  109. Cf. Art. 2:604(1) CLIP Principles (2013).

  110. See German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 23/02, 2005 GRUR Int. pp. 70–72 – Gazoz.

  111. Glöckner and Kur (2014), p. 44; CJEU C-558/08 Portakabin Ltd and Portakabin BV, EU:C:2010:416, paras. 58, 62–63 (spare parts delivery).

  112. Cf. Glöckner and Kur (2014), pp. 43–44; Nupp (2003), p. 663.

  113. German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 163/02, 2005 GRUR p. 431 – HOTEL MARITIME.

  114. ECJ Case C-245/02 Anheuser-Busch I, EU:C:2004:717, para. 83; Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch), para. 182; Art. 4(5)(c), 5(3)(b) WIPO (1999); see also Euromarket Designs Incorporated v Peters & Anor [2000] EWHC 453 (Ch), para. 40.

  115. Stichting BDO v. BDO Unibank Inc. [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch), para. 191.

  116. On the validity of respective division agreements under competition law, see Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs Case C-10/89 CNL-Sucal (“Hag II”), EU:C:1990:112, para. 62; Hamburg Regional Court Case 3 U 139/10, BeckRS 2014, 23186.

  117. Cf. Art. 14(1) WIPO (2001).

  118. Article 12, 14(2)(a)–(c) WIPO (2001); Flavor Corp. of America v. Kemin Industries, Inc., 503 F.2d 729 (8th Cir. 1974); German Federal Supreme Court Case I ZR 24/03, 2006 MMR pp. 461, 462 – Arzneimittelwerbung im Internet; Kur (2005), pp. 190–191; Nupp (2003), pp. 652–653, 655–656; but see WIPO (2011), para. 3.5 (the existence of a disclaimer cannot by itself cure bad faith).

  119. See supra at fn. 69.

  120. Grupo Gigante SA De CV v. Dallo & Co., Inc., 391 F.3d 1088, 1094 (9th Cir. 2004) (“famous mark exception to the territoriality principle”). On national approaches to the protection of well-known marks see de Werra (2011).

  121. See Art. 3:603(1) CLIP Principles (2013), and Kur (2013), Art. 3:603 CLIP Principles comment, fn. 8.

  122. Correa (2007), pp. 189–190; Gervais (2012), para. 2.239; Malbon et al. (2014), para. 16.35; Art. 2 WIPO (1999); ITC Ltd. v. Punchgini, Inc., 482 F.3d 135, 153 et seq. (2nd Cir. 2007) (denying federal trade mark protection for foreign trade marks that are not used in the U.S.); ITC Ltd. v. Punchgini, Inc., 9 N.Y.3d 467, 476 (N.Y. 2007) (recognizing the protection of the goodwill of a foreign mark not used in New York from misappropriation under New York unfair competition law if consumers of the good or service provided under a certain mark by a defendant in New York primarily associate the mark with the foreign plaintiff); Grupo Gigante SA De CV v. Dallo & Co., Inc., 391 F.3d 1088, 1098 (9th Cir. 2004); see also Lockridge (2010), pp. 1362, 1413 (high standard of local knowledge of the famous mark required).

  123. Schneider (1998), p. 467; Schmidt-Pfitzner and Schneider 2013, Art. 16 TRIPS para. 31 with further references; see also Kur (1999), p. 872 (creation of a kind of global “copyright” in well-known signs).

  124. Swiss Federal Court BGE 130 III 267, 280–1 (referring to Art. 3(1) WIPO 1999).

  125. Ibid.

  126. Cf. Art. 4(1)(d) WIPO (1999) and explanatory notes to WIPO (1999), para. 3.2.

  127. Article 2(c) and (d) WIPO (1999) and explanatory notes to WIPO (1999), para. 2.16 (WIPO members “may” protect well-known marks if these are merely known or even unknown among the local public). But see Art. 7 General Inter-American Convention for Trade-mark and Commercial Protection, 20 February 1929, 46 Stat. 2907 (right of the owner of any mark protected in a contracting state to challenge the use and registration of an interfering mark in another contracting state upon proof that the interfering party had knowledge of the existence and continuous use of the mark). See Farley (2014), p. 57 et seq.

  128. See Art. 16(3) TRIPS (“… in respect of which a trade mark is registered …”); cf. Correa (2007), p. 192 et seq.; Gervais (2012), para. 2.240; Malbon et al. (2014), para. 16.39; Schmidt-Pfitzner and Schneider (2013), Art. 16 para. 39. But see Art. 4(1)(b) WIPO (1999); Schneider (1998), p. 469 (question has been left open). Contra Swiss Federal Court BGE 130 III 267, 284–5 without further explanation; Kunz-Hallstein (2015), p. 7 et seq.

  129. See also Art. 4(1)(a) WIPO (1999).

  130. The same is true with regard to “bad faith” registrations under Art. 6bis(3) PC; see ECJ Case C-529/07 Lindt & Sprüngli, EU:C:2009:361; Max Planck Study (2011), p. 84.

  131. Consequently, model provisions on “ubiquitous infringements”, according to which such an infringement is subject only to the IP law of the State having the closest connection with the infringement (supra) do not apply to the infringement of well-known marks on the Internet; but see Kur (2013), Art. 3:603 CLIP Principles, comment, fn. 8.

  132. See Otokoyama Co. Ltd. v. Wine of Japan Import, Inc., 175 F.3d 266, 270 et seq. (2nd Cir. 1999); Enrique Bernat F., S.A. v. Guadalajara, Inc., 210 F.3d 439, 445 (5th Cir. 2000); McCarthy (2014), § 12:41. On the different legal situation in the EU see supra 2.2.1.

  133. Article 4(4)(c) TMD, 53(2) CTMR.

  134. Article 3(1)(e)(i) TMD, 7(1)(e)(i) CTMR.

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  1. Frankfurt, Germany

    Alexander Peukert (Dr. iur.; Professor of Civil Law and Intellectual Property Law, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Faculty of Law and Cluster of Excellence, The Formation of Normative Orders)

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This article greatly benefited from many discussions with Matthias C. Kettemann and from comments made by Lee A. Bygrave, Christine Farley, Christian Heinze, Annette Kur, Marketa Trimble, Thomas Schultz, Dan Svantesson, Stefan Völker and other participants of a workshop funded by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt/Germany. The views expressed in this article are the responsibility of the author alone.

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Peukert, A. The Coexistence of Trade Mark Laws and Rights on the Internet, and the Impact of Geolocation Technologies. IIC 47, 60–86 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40319-015-0427-8

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