EU

As of 1 February 2026, new rules came into effect for patent applicants using the EPO’s PACE programme. Marion Bénetière explains what has changed.

Commercial concepts, such as ‘quiet luxury’, can easily catch the public’s imagination, but that doesn’t mean they can be registered as trademarks, says Laetitia Maufroy. She shares key lessons from the EUIPO’s January 2026 decision on the sign ‘Quite Luxury’.  

A recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified the design concepts of creation and individual character.  

Two recent decisions by the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) clarify the approach now adopted by the UPC bodies to analyse inventive step.

In response to a preliminary question referred by the French Court of Cassation, the CJEU has clarified the principle that a trademark bearing a designer’s name may become deceptive due to its use after the designer’s departure.

The priority rule is an essential tool for EU trademark owners, since it allows applicants to obtain protection retroactively. However, a recent judgment by the EU General Court has reaffirmed that its use cannot be stretched indefinitely (at least in EU trademark law).

Is a sign consisting of a date sufficiently distinctive to be registered as a trademark in the watch and jewellery sector? In September 2025, the General Court of the European Union answered this in the negative regarding the application by watchmaker Montres Tudor SA to register ‘1926’ as a trademark right.

For successful companies, growth rarely occurs by chance. Expansion requires sharp choices, market insight and the ability to turn assets – such as trademarks and technology – into competitive advantage.

The addition of a secondary element, such as ‘by’, is not enough to differentiate a mark from a well-known trademark even in a different market, as Clarisse Merdy explains in the context of a recent dispute between oil giant OMV AG and a feminine hygiene brand.

Haribo's EU trademark application for its Goldbears teddy bear was rejected by the EUIPO due to a lack of distinctiveness. Now the EU General Court has confirmed that the two-dimensional figurative trademark is too simple and too decorative to qualify for trademark protection, as Armelle Blachier explains.

As of 1 October 2025, the European Patent Office (EPO) formally permits the electronic filing and processing of colour and greyscale drawings in European patent applications. We outline the key changes and their legal implications.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has launched a series of initiatives to measure and encourage innovation in digital agriculture across the EU. Emma Cuillery outlines the key findings and explains the important role of digital technologies and patents in ensuring sustainable food security.