0000000000048334
AUTHOR
Vadim Mantrov
Challenges for Further Development
After discussion of the EU law on IGOs, including applicable Regulations within the EU direct protection system and legal acts within the EU indirect protection system, it would be appropriate to finish the discussion in Part II of the book by providing a critical overview of the existing regulatory framework of the regulation of IGOs in the EU law, as well as pointing out possibilities for further development of the EU law in this field.
Available Defences in Provisional measures: Between the Enforcement Directive and National law
AbstractThe EU Enforcement Directive provides a set of provisional measures to be applied upon request from a right-holder of a particular object of intellectual property. Simultaneously, the EU Enforcement Directive envisages a set of defences for an alleged infringer (defendant) in order to safeguard the balance of the parties. This article discusses available defences for an alleged infringer in the provisional measures as provided by the EU Member States when the norms of the EU Enforcement Directive are transposed. Specifically, the present article not only focuses on the threshold of evidence to be presented by a plaintiff for the application of provisional measures, but also in regar…
The Place of Indications of Geographical Origin in the Intellectual Property System
As indicated in the introductory chapter of this book, different designations are used for denoting goods and services in the trade which are not congeneric from the legal point of view. Among those designations, there are also those which contain a reference to a particular geographical place, i.e. geographical designations. This situation is successfully revealed in materials of one international conference by indicating that many designations which are used in commerce may contain a geographical reference (yet their legal nature is different) by distinguishing three different groups of such designations:
A Victim of a Road Traffic Accident Not Fastened by the Seat Belt and the EU Motor Insurance Law: CJEU Judgment in Vítor Hugo Marques Almeida
This case note relates to the recent judgement (23 October 2012) by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case No C-300/10 concerning interrelation of the European Union motor insurance law and the national civil liability regulation. As the civil liability arising from motor traffic accidents is not approximated by the European Union law, its regulation falls within the national law. Yet, application of the national civil liability law shall not undermine the obligation to provide insurance coverage for victims of road traffic accidents. The discussed case concerns a situation when a victim who was not fastened by a seat belt at the moment of a motor traffic accident was injure…
The 70th Annual Conference of the University of Latvia in the Legal Science: A Plenary Session on the Legal Environment of Innovations: A Conference Report
The conference report provides for brief description of papers presented during the plenary session of the 70th anniversary annual conference of the University of Latvia. The plenary session was dedicated to the legal environment of innovations and was held on February 2, 2012 in the Faculty of Law, University of Latvia.
Different regulatory models of transfer of industrial property rights in the Baltic States: A plea for harmonized approach
AbstractThe authors explore different models of transfer of industrial property on a comparative basis. The article demonstrates that these models differ on a country level and several models may be in use in one legal system. The authors analyze strengths and weaknesses and legal implications of these models in the three Baltic States both at the regulatory level and at the practical level through case studies. The authors conclude that would be preferable to use the model under which the register is vested with negative publicity and the transfer of ownership of industrial property is not made dependent on its recordation.
Available Defences for Defendants in the Provisional Measures in Europe: Between Theory and Practice
The EU Enforcement Directive provides a set of provisional measures to be applied by a request of a right-holder of a particular object of intellectual property. Simultaneously, the EU Enforcement Directive envisages a set of defences for an alleged infringer in order to safeguard the balance of parties. This article discusses available defences for an alleged infringer in provisional measures as provided by the EU Member States when norms of the EU Enforcement Directive are transposed in conjuncture with the available court practice. Specifically, the present article focuses not only on the threshold of evidence to be presented by a plaintiff for application of provisional measures but als…
The Historical Foundations of the Regulation of Indications of Geographical Origin
Understanding of indications of geographical origin (IGOs) and the necessity for their protection emerged from two opposite though mutually related powers. From one side, it emerged from efforts of interested persons, mainly producers of goods bearing IGOs, to develop recognition of designations (usually names) capable to designate their geographical origin. From another side, it arose as a response to practices of such persons who exploited the commercial success of those names not being in any way associated with the geographical places referred to in those names at all (nowadays these persons are called imitators). The history of IGOs, therefore, reveals a broad list of examples of when …
Case Comment: C-82/10 European Commission v Ireland - Judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union, September 29, 2011 (VHI Case)
This article (published online for the EJLE, see below) is the case comment on the recent judgement (September 29, 2011) of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case No C-82/10 concerning non-life insurance. This case was initiated by the European Commission against Ireland for failure to fulfil its obligations by not covering the Voluntary Health Insurance Board by insurance supervisory scheme as provided for by relevant Directives. The above insurance institution which is the main health insurer in Ireland enjoys exemption from the supervisory scheme envisaged by relevant Directives. Ireland may maintain this exemption if its capacity is not amended; otherwise the above insti…
Aromatised Wines Regulation
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of aromatized wines, aromatized wine-based drinks and aromatized wine-product cocktails (hereinafter—the Aromatised Wines Regulation) regulates the operation of aromatised wines within the internal market.
European Collective Mark
Previous chapters of Part II dealt with the protection of IGOs at the EU level, i.e. IGOs as unitary rights, through the direct protection system. However, protection of IGOs at the EU level may be ensured not only through the direct protection system, but also through trade mark protection system, namely, through protection as a Community collective mark. That protection is ensured by the Codifying Community Trade Mark Regulation, namely Title VIII containing Arts. 66–74 (previously—Arts. 64–72 of the Community Trade Mark Regulation). From the point of view of the territorial scope, Community collective mark differs from national collective marks of EU Member States. Generally trade mark l…
Fall and Decline
Similarly as in case of trade marks, IGOs have their rises and falls depending on the intensity of their use, character of such usage, and the activity of interested persons. Also as with trade marks, rises and falls of IGOs are characterised in terms of the level of their recognition among consumers influencing the scope of their protection. For these reasons, IGOs may be protected insofar they are capable of fulfilling their function, i.e. to distinguish the geographical origin of goods and services in question. Only when a particular geographical designation fulfils that function of an IGO, it is possible to discuss its protection within any of the protection models of IGOs.
Is a National Court Competent to Introduce a Disclaimer into a Trade Mark Registration? The Latvian Supreme Court Finally Says ‘No’
Abstract It was a longstanding practice of Latvian courts to acknowledge their competence to introduce a disclaimer into a challenged trade mark registration. This had come to be considered as settled court practice. However, the Latvian Supreme Court recently decided to withdraw this practice and explicitly admitted a change of approach concerning the competence of Latvian national courts to introduce a disclaimer into a trade mark registration. In this way, the Latvian Supreme Court finally abolished a disputable practice in the Latvian courts, having formerly allowed themselves to introduce a disclaimer which could – by way of a misunderstanding of trade mark law – be introduced by a cou…
Quality Schemes Regulation
As it was discussed in the previous chapter, the EU direct protection system covers IGOs in relation to agricultural products and foodstuffs and is divided in four parts each of them being regulated in a separate legal act in the form of a regulation. Due to that regulatory approach, each of these separate regulations will be discussed separately in this and the next three chapters. This chapter examines the Quality Schemes Regulation covering, inter alia, IGOs in relation to agricultural products and foodstuffs except spirits (examined in Chap. 7), wine sector products (Chap. 8), and aromatised wines (Chap. 9) (hereinafter all these types of goods (products) referred to as agricultural pro…
The Spirits Regulation
This chapter deals with IGOs in respect of one of four parts of agricultural products and foodstuffs regulated within the direct protection system, namely spirits. As IGOs in respect of spirits are exclusively regulated by the Spirits Regulation, the relevant provisions of the Regulation are commented in the next section of this book.
The Single CMO Regulation
This chapter deals with IGOs in respect of one of four parts of agricultural products and foodstuffs within the direct protection system, namely wines (wine sector products) except aromatised wines which are covered by a separate regulation, i.e. the Aromatised Wines Regulation discussed within the next chapter. IGOs in respect of wines are currently regulated by the Single CMO Regulation within the framework of the common agricultural policy (CAP). The competence of EU institutions within the CAP is shared and is subject to the principle of proportionality.
Necessity for the Improvement of the Regulation of Standard Terms in Latvia (Tipveida llgumuregull juma pilnveidooa nas ne piecie ammba Latvijj)
English Abstract: This paper analyses the regulation of standard terms in Latvia, provides its comparison with selected European countries, and proposals for elimination of problems of the currently effective Latvian regulation on standard terms. Latvian Abstract: Sajā dokumentā analizētas regulējumu standarta noteikumiem Latvijā, nodrosina tās salīdzināt ar Eiropas valstīs, kā arī priekslikumus novērsanai problēmām paslaik spēkā Latvijas regulai par standarta noteikumiem.
European Union Protection System
Traditionally, the EU law (characterised as acquis communautaire) is divided into the primary law and the secondary law. This distinction of the EU law is not based on a hierarchy of norms but, as it is justly admitted in the legal literature, on sources: if the EU primary law originates from the EU Member States as ‘Masters of the Treaty’, the EU secondary law—directly from EU institutions. In the case of IGOs (as well as other IP objects such as trade marks, designs, patents, and plant variety rights), their regulation is ensured both by the EU primary law and the EU secondary law which will be reviewed separately in Part II of the book.
Competence Aspects of Responsible State Institutions
One of the specific features of the law on IGOs relates to the fact that competence of state institutions of EU Member States for prosecution of the infringements of IGOs is envisaged within their jurisdictions. Therefore, in the case of IGOs, their infringements will be prosecuted both by right-holders of IGOs and state institutions of EU Member States. Considering these both prosecution possibilities, right-holders of IGOs have a choice either to prosecute infringements of IGOs themselves, i.e. bringing a case to a court if out-of-court settlement procedures were not successful or were not even chosen, or to apply to a state institution having competence to prosecute infringements of IGOs…
SOVIET PERIOD FILMS IN TODAY’S COPYRIGHT LAW: GERMAN AND BALTIC EXPERIENCE
1. Introduction Within society, films (1) have several functions. They serve as mass media, still most essential today, apart from the internet. They are a form of artistic expression, and an economical factor. While its function as mass media has always been dominant since the creation of the first 'motion pictures' around 1900--and therefore served as an ideal propaganda tool for various regimes--the importance of the artistic and the economic aspect changed over time. In the Soviet Union, the value of films and movies as means of information, education and propaganda was realized from its earliest days. Mosfilm, founded in 1920, as the oldest European film studio and long being the large…
Motor Vehicles Not Used in Road Traffic Are Also Subject to Compulsory Insurance in Europe - CJEU Clarification in Case C-80/17
The article analyses a recent significant case in the Court of Justice of the European Union on the extent of compulsory insurance in the field of motor insurance. The judgment delivered by the Grand Chamber of the CJEU on 04 September 2018 clarifies the obligation to conclude a motor insurance contract in a situation when a motor vehicle is no longer intended to be used in road traffic. If previously there was no doubt that motor vehicles that are used in road traffic are subject to compulsory insurance, it was unclear whether compulsory insurance in the field of motor insurance also extends to vehicles which are no longer intended to be used in road traffic. The Court formulated the ‘thre…
Problem Questions of Insurance Contract Regulation in Latvia
This paper reviews significant defects of Latvian Insurance Contract Law arising from its drafting procedure and interrelation with other laws. Particular attention is paid to the out-dated approaches contained in this law, and the paper discusses them in conjunction with approaches developed in other European countries, including neighboring countries. The paper challenges inclusion of regulations of insurance contract in the above mentioned separate law and instead proposes its inclusion in the Civil Law of the Republic of Latvia, and provides grounds for such proposal.
Indirect Protection System
As it was characterised in Chap. 5 of this book, protection of IGOs in the EU law consists of two protection systems: the direct protection system and the indirect protection system. If the first protection system is generally ensured through the applicable Regulations that are applicable without their further transposition into the national law of EU Member States, the other one is generally ensured through directives to be further transposed into the national law of EU Member States.
Interrelation Between European Union Protection and National Protection
In addition to registration requirements, registration procedure, and the protection of registered IGOs, namely PDOs and PGIs, as well as protected indications of origin (within the Aromatised Wines Regulation), the EU law on IGOs also includes the regulation of other aspects. Competence of state institutions of EU Member States to ensure the observance of the regulation of IGOs as it is provided in the EU law or interrelation with other EU legal acts relating to IGOs already discussed in Part II of this book should be mentioned among such aspects.