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…