Trademarks - squaring the circle

The `R' symbol in a circle can now legally denote a trademark registered anywhere in the EC. The recent Pall case (Pall Corp v Dahlhausen, case 238/89) in the European Court of Justice has changed the picture and seems to alter UK law on trademarks.

Trademarks

Squaring the circle with an 'R' in it

Ross Denton

That handy 'R' can now legally denote a trademark registered anywhere in the EC. This seems to alter Britain's 1938 Trade Marks Act.

In the recent Pall Corp V Dahlhausen case (Case 238/89), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) struck down a provision restricting the use of the "R" symbol in a circle, and again attempted to strike a balance in the unending struggle between free movement of goods and protection of intellectual property.

The case, decided in December 1990, concerned a German rule prohibiting the...

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