Trade mark law practitioners agree that Ulrich Hildebrandt’s Trade Mark Law in Europe hugely enhances their work. This fourth edition follows the same well-known, intensely practical, time-saving format, with each provision of current law (Directive 2015/2436) reproduced in its original English wording and annotated with relevant passages from all relevant decisions of the European Court of Justice, as well as relevant provisions of the Community Trade Mark Regulation and the national trade mark acts of all Member States implementing the Directive. The author’s expert commentary on each provision expressly marks major changes to previous versions of the Directive, highlights when case law concerning a previous version remains relevant and translates passages that lack an official English text.

Among the fundamental questions addressed are the following:

• When is it possible to register a geographical indication as a trademark?

• Are colours and sounds capable of registration?

• When may the reputation of a mark be invoked to protect it?

• How mundane could a sign be and still claim to be distinctive?

• When can it be said that there has been no genuine use of a trade mark?

• Where does the Court’s function theory influence the trademark law?

Given a topic or keyword, appendices assist in the quick finding of any provision of the Directive and relevant case law.

There is no other resource presenting the original wording of ECJ case law, broken down by specific points of law and directly related on an article-by-article basis to EU and Member State trade mark legislation. As a highly organized presentation of key information, this is an ideal initial tool that makes any research into European trade mark law fast and easy, whether for academic purposes or actual legal practice. Lawyers, in-house counsel, judges, and academics will all welcome this new edition.