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Research Papers
Intellectual Property and Competition Law

Sweet Smells and a Sour Taste - The ECJ's L'Oréal decision

Kur, AnnetteSweet Smells and a Sour Taste - The ECJ's L'Oréal decision (Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition & Tax Law Research Paper, No. 09-12), 2009, 6 pp. (together with Lionel F. Bently, Ansgar Ohly).

In this brief comment on the ECJ’s decision L’Oréal v. Bellure (decision of 18 June 2009 case C-487/07 ) the authors argue that by protecting the reputation of a precious mark at the expense of consumer information about the availability of products legitimately offered on the market, the Court has failed to give an adequate response to the underlying conflict between the interests of the trade mark holder and freedom of commercial speech.

Available at SSRN