Reputation in the European Community

Pago International v. Tirol Milch, Case C-301/07, Opinion AG Sharpston, 30 April 2009

Advocate General Sharpston has proposed that the Court of Justice of the European Communities ("ECJ") adopt a two-stage test for deciding whether a trade mark has "reputation in the Community" in order to qualify for the extended form of protection under article 9(1)(c) of the Community Trade Mark Regulation.  That extended form of protection is available to CTMs of repute against infringing uses of similar marks on similar or dissimilar products irrespective of likelihood of confusion.

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