The non-systematic relevance of earlier IP rights: from Gömböc to Brompton Bicycle
A mathematical discovery and a trade mark at once? A few days ago, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in the important Gömböc referral (C-237/19) [see here for a discussion of the background] . The decision, which is analyzed in detail on The IPKat here and has been also discussed in the context of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice ’s first EU trade mark live webinar [from 1:06:00; for the dates of the next webinars, see here ] , is equally relevant to trade mark law (it was indeed a trade mark case concerning protection of 3D marks) and other IP rights (IPRs), including copyright. Assessment of functionality As far as trade marks are concerned, the most valuable aspect of the judgment is perhaps the one concerning how the assessment of ‘technical’ and ‘aesthetic functionality’ is to be conducted under what is currently Article 7...