The Summer 2021 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released: English version German version In this edition we cover the following topics: Update on international data transfers State Labour Court of Baden-Württemberg: No claim for damages for transferring personal data to the United States on … Continue Reading
The German Constitutional Court issued a landmark decision with implications for many companies doing business in Europe on July 9, 2021. For decades, the European Commission and EU member states strived to create a pan-European Unified Patent Court (UPC). After overcoming many hurdles, any sensible commentator will be cautious in making statements about the future … Continue Reading
Germany is among the world’s leading patent jurisdictions. However, several years after the implementation of the EU Enforcement Directive, the government felt that the Patents Act (PatG) needed updating. Following lengthy consultations and many changes, the reform bill passed the German federal parliament (Bundestag) very early this morning (June 11, 2021). The second chamber of … Continue Reading
The Spring 2021 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released: English version German version In this edition we cover the following topics: New cookie rules in Germany will apply as of December 1, 2021 German data protection authorities conduct coordinated audits on international data transfers … Continue Reading
In this episode, Sarah Bruno and LiLing Poh discuss recent trends as organizations invest more in technology through the acquisition of new platforms or programs, or by working with a vendor to bring a product to market. Exploring a case study involving a global pharmaceutical company on the rollout of a health-related digital app, they … Continue Reading
The Winter 2021 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released: English version German version In this edition we cover the following topics: Strengthening fair competition – changes to the law against unfair competition Cologne Regional Court on the broad concept of the right to access … Continue Reading
An Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, which is used to identify each economic operator in relation to its dealings with EU Customs authorities, will become mandatory for the filing, modification and extension of applications for action, which allow Customs authorities to enforce the customs surveillance of intellectual property rights within the EU on … Continue Reading
Unlike other countries, such as the US, France has a conservative approach of when and how IP right holders are entitled to disclose a pending infringement dispute to their clients and investors, under the legal concept of “disparagement”. France takes this step in order to limit the negative impact on the competitor resulting from disclosure … Continue Reading
Recently in a landmark decision, United States PTO v. Booking.com B.V. the U.S. Supreme Court clarified certain trademark rights for “.com.” There, the High Court ruled 8-1 that Booking.com, a popular online travel reservation agency, could register its company name – BOOKING.COM – as a trademark. In doing so, the Supreme Court struck down the … Continue Reading
Companies and their workforces across the globe have been impacted by COVID-19 in ways that threaten critical trade secrets and other IP assets, and that require greater vigilance to protect them. The massive increase in the world’s remote workforce, as well as numerous terminations and furloughs, create a heightened risk of theft or inadvertent disclosure of … Continue Reading
European countries have pursued the project of creating a Unitary Patent and a Unified Patent Court (UPC), since the early seventies. Success seemed within reach in 2013 when the international Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) was concluded and subsequently ratified by several states. However, in 2017 the project came to a grinding halt … Continue Reading
On February 6, 2020 the case management judge of the Paris High Court (Tribunal Judiciaire) made a decision that is of great importance in terms of both the legal qualification of the undertaking of the owner of patents essential to the implementation of standards to grant to anyone a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) license, … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently invalidated Western Express Bancshares, LLC’s (Western Express) U.S. Patent No. 8,498,932 relating to a method of transferring funds through a bankcard. This decision was the result of a motion to dismiss a patent infringement action brought by Western Express against Green Dot Corporation … Continue Reading
Within two weeks, Miami International Holding Inc. and its subsidiaries (MIAX) have attained five victories before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The PTAB declared that five Nasdaq patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,618,707, 7,246,093, 7,921,051, 7,747,506, and 8,386,371), related to electronic securities trading systems, are invalid under … Continue Reading
On 9 September 2019, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung – BMZ) introduced a new, state-regulated environmental label for “Green Button” (Grüner Knopf) certified textiles with a press release. The BMZ also launched the official Green Button website, which is available in German at http://www.gruener-knopf.de/. In a nutshell … Continue Reading
The Summer 2019 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released: English version German version In this edition we cover the following topics: ECJ and GDPR: Another decision hitting social media activities by companies EDPB does not opt for changes to EU standard contractual clauses EU … Continue Reading
The Spring 2019 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We provide updates on cookies and tracking tools, Facebook fan pages, fines under GDPR, influencer marketing, email encryption, platform provider obligations, framing, the new German Trade Secrets Act, and more. The newsletter also includes multiple … Continue Reading
Germany is one of the most important patent litigation jurisdictions in Europe, making developments in its patent law very important to globally operating companies. In recent years, the number of cases regarding claims for the transfer of patents has risen steadily in Germany. If an application is filed by someone who is not entitled to … Continue Reading
The Winter 2019 edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We provide updates on Facebook Custom Audiences, social plug-ins, influencer advertising, withdrawal right information, the EU copyright law reform and more. The newsletter also includes multiple recommended reads on the GDPR. We hope you enjoy … Continue Reading
Germany is a leading jurisdiction for patent litigation, yet it is still not popular for those bringing trade secrets disputes. Frankfurt partner Dr Anette Gärtner has published a case comment, “German Federal Supreme Court: Hohlfasermembranspinnanlage II — Enforcement of Claims for Misuse of Trade Secrets”, looking at the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the misappropriation … Continue Reading
The Fall 2018 edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We provide updates on Facebook fan pages, the right to be forgotten, cease and desists by competitors under GDPR, spamming and customer satisfaction surveys, the German Network Enforcement Act, and more. The newsletter also includes … Continue Reading
The Summer 2018 Edition of the quarterly IT & Data Protection Newsletter by Reed Smith Germany has just been released. We provide updates on Facebook fan pages, cookie consent, influencer marketing, liability of platform providers, framing and more. The newsletter also includes multiple recommended reads on the GDPR. We hope you enjoy reading it.… Continue Reading
On 7 August 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has released another judgment (surprisingly its first copyright judgment of 2018) on the interpretation of the right of communication to the public (case no. C-161/17 – “Judgment”). The CJEU held that the unauthorised re-posting of copyright protected works may constitute an act of … Continue Reading
In a judgment of 18 June 2018, case 24 U 146/17, the Berlin Court of Appeals (Kammergericht Berlin – Court of Appeals) held that collecting societies shall grant the right of use of their picture inventory as thumbnails even if these pictures can be ‘framed’ by third parties and the prospective licensee does not commit … Continue Reading
