Region: Sweden

A district court in Sweden has dismissed television broadcaster TV3 AB's trademark infringement claim against mobile phone operator HI3G Access AB in relation to the latter's use of the trademark 3. Despite considerable evidence that TV3's own 3 marks had acquired secondary meaning, the court concluded that TV3 could have no exclusive right to the number, either as a numeral or in its written form.

30 August 2005

The Swedish Market Court has issued a decision that grants some protection to the shape of LEGO bricks under unfair competition rules. The court held that while Lego's competitors must be free to use the same interlocking system as that featured on LEGO bricks, competitors' toys must be distinguishable from LEGO bricks in terms of design, colour or other features.

06 December 2004

The Swedish Patent Appeals Court has overturned a decision to refuse the registration of the mark DRESSMART for clothing. Citing the European Court of Justice's decision in <i>BABY-DRY</i>, it held that when viewed in its entirety the mark was sufficiently distinctive to allow registration.

25 May 2004

The Swedish Patent Appeals Court has overturned a Patent and Registration Office decision and has allowed the registration of IBM's e-business logo mark, which consists of the symbol '@' but with the letter 'a' replaced by an 'e'. It held that the sign was distinctive and was not descriptive of e-commerce services.

20 April 2004

In <i>Kraft Foods v JD Tankstället AB</i>, the Swedish Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court's decision and has ruled that the defendant's repackaging of the plaintiff's trademarked chocolate bars infringed Article 7(2) of the Community Trademark Directive. It held that an exception to Article 7(2) under Swedish law was not applicable.

15 April 2004

The Svea Court of Appeals has revoked electronics giant Philips's trademark registration for the shape and configuration of the head of an electric shaver. The court held that the mark consisted exclusively of a shape that was necessary to achieve a technical result. The decision puts Swedish case law in line with the ECJ's interpretation of Article 3(1)(e) of the Community Trademark Directive.

15 March 2004

In <i>Microsoft Corporation v Lindows.com Inc</i>, the Stockholm District Court has issued a temporary injunction enjoining Lindows from using the trademarks LINDOWS, LINDOWS.COM and LINDOWS.OS for goods and services relating to operating systems. This effectively blocks the distribution of Lindows's software in Sweden.

23 January 2004

Swedish broadcaster TV3, the owner of the TV3 mark, has filed trademark infringement proceedings against telecommunications company HI3G over its use of the trademark 3 in conjunction with internet content provider services for mobile phones. The outcome of the case is eagerly anticipated as both marks have limited inherent distinctiveness.

15 January 2004

In <i>Société des Produits Nestlé SA v Master Foods AB</i>, the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court has refused Nestlé's application for leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Patent Appeals in which Nestlé's trademark registration for the get-up of its SMARTIES sweets packaging was rejected.

10 December 2003

The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear an appeal filed by the Swedish arm of electronics giant Sony against a decision from the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal held that Sony Sweden had infringed the rights of the owner of the I-LINK mark because its website linked to other sites that featured the term 'i-link'.

28 November 2003