sutton044

Exhaustion is the hot Brexit topic du jour. Regardless of the industry, changes to the exhaustion regime are set to affect everyone in ways both predictable and unpredictable. This Kat has had lots of messages from friends in very different sectors wondering what on earth exhaustion of rights could mean and why everyone is so worried about it. The note goes some way toward answering both questions. What is exhaustion? The guidance note has this helpful explanation: The exhaustion of IP rights refers to the loss of the right to control distribution and resale of that product after it has been placed on the market within a specified territory by, or with the permission of, the right holder. A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product which is imported into a country where the intellectual property rights in that product have already been exhausted. The UK is currently part of a regional European Economic Area (EEA) exhaustion scheme, meaning that IP rights are considered exhausted onc...

DAVIDOFF HOT WATER is the name of a perfume and as such registered as an EU trade mark. Coty is the exclusive licensee for this trade mark and distributes the perfume in Germany. In 2015, the CJEU ruled that Coty could request the personal details of a bank account’s owner after said bank account was used for selling (trade mark) infringing products on eBay [see Katpost on CJEU decision here and on subsequent FCJ decision here ] .   Kat testing the water temperature Now, HOT WATER returns to the CJEU, once again following a referral from the FCJ (case No I ZR 20/17). This time, Coty made a test purchase of a perfume labelled “Davidoff Hot Water EdT 60 ml” on Amazon Marketplace. The seller had used Amazon’s ‘Fulfillment by Amazon’ option. Amazon describes this option as follows: “With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you store your products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products.” The test purchase made by Coty turned ...