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The community trade mark (CTM) for the shape of the famous Rubik’s cube puzzle has been found valid this week by the General Court. Simba Toys sought cancellation of Seven Town’s CTM on various grounds including that the mark consisted exclusively of the shape of goods “which is necessary to obtain a technical result” and that “it was devoid of distinctive character”. The court disagreed.
It found the representation of the mark only shows a cube, the surfaces of which bear a grid structure. A cube made up of elements with a rotatable function couldn’t be inferred from that. Furthermore a cube bearing a grid structure was not, at the application date, commonplace for three-dimensional puzzles (which exist in a multitude of shapes) and was inherently distinctive.
The narrow interpretation of the technical function grounds for invalidity applied in this decision is open to challenge. It will therefore be interesting to see if this decision is appealed to the CJEU.
One of the requirements for tenants to contract out of the security of tenure regime contained in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is that they make a simple or statutory declaration before entering into the lease.
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Landlords should reconsider summary judgment if a Part 26A restructuring plan is pending.
A landlord’s claim for summary judgment to recover rent and service charge arrears accrued since the start of the pandemic against a non-essential retailer succeeded. Like London buses, a second such case has followed hot on its heels.
Whilst this decision may not be surprising, it will undoubtedly send a chill down the spine of retailers in a similar position to The Fragrance Shop.
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