20.11.2015

BMW AG – Enforcement of BMW’s Registered Community Designs

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High-quality design is a key success factor for car manufacturers building their brands and developing a loyal customer base. This is particularly true of premium car brands. High-end design products make tempting targets for manufacturers and sellers of after-sales replica parts.

This was the core issue in a recent dispute where we successfully represented BMW; a design rights infringement case concerning replica rims. The court upheld our client’s infringement claim, ordering the defendants to pay damages. The case is precedent-setting in Finland in holding that car rims do not constitute ‘spare parts’ under design law and in defining the scope of criminal liability for the infringement of European-level IP rights, such as EU Community designs and EU trade marks.

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Valio – Global Brand Portfolio Management and IP Enforcement

We are advising Valio in brand protection and intellectual property enforcement matters globally. Our IP team manages Valio’s global trademark, design and copyright portfolio, including registration, prosecution, opposition and enforcement. We also advise Valio in questions concerning IP licensing, consumer and marketing law, social media, domain names and cybersquatting, and food sector regulation. Valio is Finland’s biggest dairy business and food exporter with EUR 1.7 billion annual net sales. Valio’s products are found in some 60 countries and account for 25% of Finland’s total food exports. The company’s R&D work follows the footsteps of Nobel Prize winner A.I. Virtanen, and Valio has some 4,200 employees around the world. The Valio brand has been regularly recognised as one of the most valued brands in Finland. Other well-known and beloved brands of Valio include, among others, AURA, OLTERMANNI, POLAR and OIVARIINI.

Anora Group – Global Brand Portfolio Management and IP Enforcement

We are advising Anora Group in brand protection and intellectual property enforcement matters globally. Our IP team manages Anora Group’s global trademark and design portfolio, including registration, prosecution, opposition and enforcement. We also advise Anora Group in questions concerning marketing law, social media, domain names and cybersquatting. Anora Group Plc is a publicly listed company. It was born in 2021 through the merger of the Finnish Altia Oyj and the Norwegian Arcus ASA. Anora Group is a leading wine and spirits brand house in the Nordic Region and a global industry forerunner in sustainability. Anora Group has a large portfolio of iconic brands such as Koskenkorva, Linie, Larsen, Skagerrak, Chill Out, Ruby Zin, Wongraven, O.P. Anderson and Falling Feather. Its key brands are exported to over 30 markets globally.

BMW AG – Enforcement of Trade Mark and Registered Community Designs

We are acting for BMW AG in a trade mark and community design infringement case against a major rim distributor and reseller in Finland. After confirming the bulk of our client’s infringement claims, the Market Court is now moving on to the damages phase of the case. First, however, the court in mid-March issued its decision on our client’s document and information production claims. The court upheld our claims and ordered the defendant to disclose accounting materials, purchase and sale figures, supply chain data and other information. The Market Court’s order also has wider implications beyond just the case at hand. The Market Court very rarely issues formal document production orders, so the court’s holding is important in outlining the scope of such orders. The Market Court also rejected a number of arguments raised by the defendant which makes it significant in terms of the defences available to defendants in document production matters. The Market Court’s order is likely to be very happy news to IP proprietors and claimants in Finland. Traditionally, the Finnish courts have taken a very restrictive approach to document production orders. The Market Court’s order is an important step in the gradual liberalisation of case law. Finland is still a long way from US-style discovery proceedings, however. Note that the decision is still subject to appeal. The order is available in Finnish on the court’s website .

PopSockets – Enforcement of IP Rights

We are advising PopSockets LLC in the enforcement of trade marks, design rights and patents as well as in counterfeit matters. PopSockets LLC manufactures and sells the popular hit product PopSockets expanding grip and mount for mobile devices. With our help, PopSockets has succeeded in removing thousands of replica products from the Finnish market.

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