Trade Marks in Europe a Practical Jurisprudence

In recent years, trade mark law in Europe has evolved from regarding trade marks as a relatively minor industrial property right into a fully developed, multi-tiered system of protection. This development has caused controversies, overlaps and breakdowns which the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is resolving through its case law. This new work examines the jurisprudence of the ECJ to provide practitioners with a detailed overview of the current state of trade mark law in Europe. By examining the Court's judgments it shows how a coherent body of trade mark law is developing and the principles on which this is based. This work: examines the position of the main actor in interpreting trade mark law and setting trends for the future: the European Court of Justice; provides an in-depth commentary on the trade mark case law of the ECJ; explains the principles driving these decisions; traces the long-term evolution of European trade mark law so recent trends are clear; sets the ECJ's trade mark decisions within the wider context of EC law development; provides an important EU/US comparative perspective, comparing the US Supreme Court's trade mark case law and approach to that of the ECJ; considers the spill-over effects of trade mark law into unfair competition law and other international trade areas.