Region: Sweden

In <i>The Gripsholm Inn AB v The Swedish Red Cross</i>, the Svea Court of Appeal has held that the Swedish Red Cross had not infringed the trademark or business name of Gripsholm Inn AB due to its use of the mark GRIPSHOLMSVIKEN HOTEL & CONFERENCE. The court concluded that the name Gripsholms was not a mark that had been established through use with regard to the services provided by the Gripsholm Inn.

11 October 2010

The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court has dismissed SmithKline Beecham plc's appeal against a decision of the Court of Patent Appeals in which the latter had held that the graphic representation of SmithKline's hologram mark did not fulfil all the criteria set forth by the ECJ in <i>Sieckmann</i>.

15 June 2010

The Swedish government has submitted to the Legislative Council a proposal for a new Trademark Act, which will replace the Trademark Act 1960. The overall purpose of the proposal is to modernize and simplify national trademark legislation, and to adapt the legislation to international rules. The new act is expected to enter into force in early 2011.

27 April 2010

In a dispute over the registration of the mark GROV for a Swedish niche tobacco product called snus, the Court of Patent Appeals has set aside a decision of the Patent and Registration Office in which the latter had held, among other things, that there was an absolute perceived importance of keeping the word '<i>grov</i>' (Swedish for 'coarse') available for use by competitors. The case has been remitted to the office for a new adjudication.

12 February 2010

In <i>Apple Inc v Next Learn AB</i>, the Swedish Court of Patent Appeals has ordered the cancellation of an apple mark owned by Next Learn AB, a computer consulting company. Among other things, the court held that Apple Inc's stylized apple mark enjoyed a high degree of protection against use of apple symbols in third-party trademarks.

09 November 2009

In the ongoing battle between Vin & Sprit AB and Golden State Vintners over trademarks representing the Golden Gate bridge, the Stockholm District Court has dealt another blow to Vin & Sprit, which is owned by Pernod Ricard, and ordered that the marks be cancelled on the grounds of non-use.

21 September 2009

Sweden’s Parliament has finally passed the bill that will implement the EU IP Enforcement Directive.

26 February 2009

In a case involving two almost identical figurative marks, a Swedish court has held that the overall impression created by an individual's trademark was different from that created by We Rock AB's trademark due to the dot in the individual's trademark, among other things. The decision demonstrates that small elements can change the overall impression created by a mark and are crucial to an assessment of similarity.

10 November 2008

The Supreme Court has granted leave to appeal in a trademark case involving Swedish television company TV3 AB and Swedish mobile telephone operator HI3G Access AB. The Supreme Court will rule on important issues, such as whether single-digit numbers can obtain trademark protection.

23 October 2006

The Court of Appeal in Stockholm has issued a ruling in the long-running global battle between Czech brewer Budĕjovický Budvar NP and US rival Anheuser-Busch Inc. The court held that while the Czech company cannot use BUDWEISER as a trademark in Sweden, it can use the mark BUDVAR for its beer.

01 March 2006