Maiwald Intellectual Property

Firm overview:

Maiwald Intellectual Property’s Trademarks & Designs team advises clients in the choice and design of the proper IP right, both prior to filing as well as later on when enforcing granted IP right against competitors. The team represents clients in opposition proceedings as well as infringement and nullity actions before the relevant German and European bodies and courts. The team has a network of associates worldwide on international matters.

The team has 285 active trademarks clients with 3838 national and international trademark applications filed, ten active trademarks litigations and a clientbase across the machines, food, clothing, cosmetics and furniture sectors.

Team overview:

Maiwald’s Trademark and Design Department is led by partner Susanna Heurung. Heurung provides comprehensive advice and assistance to clients in matters relating to German, European and international trademark law, design law, competition law, copyright law and food law. Her work involves preparing and processing applications for registration as well as legal and out-of-court proceedings in opposition, cancellation and infringement proceedings, warning notices and temporary injunctions. Heurung represents clients before the competent German and European bodies and courts and has also successfully appeared on behalf of clients before the European Court of Justice.

Key matters:

• Maiwald partner Susanna Heurung represented LLR-G5, a specialist in Organic Silicon food supplement products designed to enhance bone, joints, cardiovascular, and cognitive health, in opposition against an opposition mark in letters and numbers and identical younger mark consisting of letters only, i.e. with "spelled out number". Thus, the decision will help to clarify the applicable principles.
• Maiwald represented Medoderm GmbH in a European Union invalidity cancellation proceeding against Kerrin Professional Beauty Ltd’s application for figurative mark QiQi in classes 3 (hair products) and 35 (managing a hair business).
• The Cancellation Division found that there is a likelihood of confusion between the marks on the part of the relevant public and therefore the application for a declaration of invalidity was partially upheld. International trade mark registration No 1 552 245 was declared invalid for the European Union for some of the contested goods and services, namely: in classes 3 (hair products) and 35 (Online store for sales of hair and body care products)
• The international registration remains valid in the European Union for all the remaining services, namely: Class 35: Managing a hair and body care business; advertising and marketing of hair and body care products. Each party bears its own costs.

Clients:

AHKS GmbH, Hüseyin Bayram, Medoderm GmbH, NIQA COSMETICS GmbH, Olaf Piprek, RITEC Rohr-Inspektionstechnik GmbH, Uwe Prommer