Newsletter April 2022
Patent law
Patent applications in Europe reach a record level in 2021
The European Patent Office (EPO) has published their annual Patent Index, revealing that a record high number of patent applications, 188.600, has been submitted to the EPO in 2021. Digital communication claims the field with the largest number of European Patent applications, closely followed by the field of medical technology and computer technology.
With respect to patent applications per capita, Denmark is at the very top among EPO's 38 member countries, surpassed only by Switzerland and Sweden. With a record level of 2642 Danish patent applications filed with the EPO in 2021, Denmark is showing strong innovative drive especially in the fields of wind energy and life science.
Read more here.
Trademark law
The European Commission proposes new geographical indication system for craft and industrial products
The European Commission has presented a proposal for the first ever EU framework to protect the geographical indication (GI) of craft and industrial products in the EU.
The proposal, which is meant to protect products that rely on the originality and authenticity of traditional practices from their regions, outlines an application system involving both designated authorities in the EU Member States and the EUIPO.
Read our full article on the matter here.
Design- and copyright law
Infringement of Danish design company ferm Living’s copyright, design rights and rights under the Marketing Act to ferm Living’s “Plant Box”
On the 22nd of April 2022, The Eastern Hight Court published its decision in a case regarding the Danish company ferm Living’s popular “Plant Box”.
The Court concluded that the production of highly similar plant box by Wolly & Co.’s and the subsequent marketing and sale of the plant box by Coop Danmark A/S infringed ferm Living’s copyright and design rights and violated the Danish Marketing Act.
The Court found that the overall impression of the two plant boxes was the same and that Wolly’s plant box had been created with ferm Living’s “Plant Box” as a direct template.
Ferm Living was consequently awarded a historically large amount in damages and Wolly was prohibited from producing, selling, or marketing the concerned plant boxes as well as ordered to destroy their current supply of the infringing product.
Bugge Valentin represented ferm Living in the dispute.
Read our full article on the matter here.
The CJEU declares Article 17 of the DSM Directive valid
On the 26th of April 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the platform liability provisions set out in Article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive (DSM) are compatible with the right to freedom of expression and information. Article 17 of the DSM Directive ensures liability for platforms when they upload copyright infringing content, and the article requires the platforms to make their “best efforts” to obtain license or to block unauthorized content on their platforms.
Poland brought the action before the Court claiming that Article 17 should be annulled due to a risk of over-blocking, essentially threatening freedom of expression and information as ensured in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Grand Chamber of the CJEU dismissed the request to annul Article 17 and stated that Article 17 provides several procedural safeguards to ensure a fair balance between the freedom of expression and information and the right to intellectual property.
Read the full judgment here.
IT law
Political agreement on the Digital Services Act
A political agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and EU Member States on the proposal of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA is a comprehensive set of rules regulating the responsibilities of digital services. The purpose of the act is to provide better protection of the fundamental rights of internet users, and thus the DSA aims to ensure that the online space remains a place that safeguards freedom of expression as well as opportunities for digital businesses. It includes obligations for platforms to counter illegal content, for instance by ensuring that users are able to flag illegal content and by establishing more firm transparency requirements regarding content moderation and removal.
The political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council is now subject to formal approval by the two co-legislators.
Read more here.
Denmark to introduce strict regulation forcing online communication platforms to remove illegal content within 24 hours
The Danish Government has proposed an “Act on regulation of social media”.
The proposed act outlines strict obligations for certain online communication platforms to swiftly remove illegal content. Therefore, the proposed act may have a considerable positive impact on the rightsholders’ attempt to combat infringing content online.
However, some have also stated their concern on the act leading to unnecessary removal and blocking of legal content. This concern is based on the risk that platforms may attempt to avoid the significant fines included in the act by blocking excessively.
Other EU member states, such as Germany, have already introduced similar regulation, but the proposed Danish act entails significantly more extensive obligations for the affected platforms.
The full proposal can be read in Danish here.
Other
New World Intellectual Property report on “The Direction on Innovation”
A new WIPO report focuses on the so-called “innovation ecosystem”, which is made up of different actors, resources, decisions and policies who all play a role in creating a culture that supports innovation.
The report examines how disasters, such as a pandemic, can affect the development of innovation on the basis of historical, scientific and technological examples.
The report highlights how policymakers can drive innovation in a direction that responds more efficiently to the needs of our society. Importantly, the report also examines the great impact policymaking can have in terms of defining to what extent inventions can be protected through IP protection policies.
The full report can be read here.