Stokke suffers CJEU blow over shape marks

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Stokke suffers CJEU blow over shape marks

The Norwegian maker of Tripp Trapp highchairs has suffered a setback in its battle to protect the shape of its products after the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that EU law can preclude the registration of shapes required by the function of a product

tripp-trapp.jpg

Stokke has been in a long-running battle with Germany’s Hauck, which makes two models of chairs called the Alpha and the Beta. Stokke sued Hauck, claiming that the German company’s designs infringed its copyright in its L-shaped chairs and the rights deriving from its registered trade mark in the Benelux. Hauck claimed that the trade mark was invalid.

In 2000 a Dutch court upheld Stokke’s claim with regard to copyright, but also upheld Hauck’s counterclaim seeking a declaration that the trade mark was invalid.

On appeal the Supreme Court of the Netherlands asked the CJEU to clarify the rules on the registration of a mark consisting of the shape of a product.

Yesterday the Court ruled that registration as a trade mark of shapes required by the function of a product and of shapes which give substantial value to a product with several characteristics may be precluded under EU law.

It said that reserving the benefit of such shapes to a single operator would grant a monopoly over the essential characteristics of goods, which would undermine the objective of trade mark protection.

The case will now return to the Dutch courts for a final decision.




more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Alston & Bird acted for InterDigital, while Samsung was represented by Fish & Richardson, during the arbitration process
Powell Gilbert lawyers reveal how they navigated parallel EPO proceedings and collaborated with European peers to come out on top in the Nordic-Baltic Division’s first judgment
The firms posted increases in revenue and profit per equity partner, with both giving a nod to their IP expertise
EasyGroup, the owner of the easyJet airline, said in a press release that UK-based first-instance judges are “less experienced”, bringing a long-running debate back to the fore
A cross-practice team from Mayer Brown, which included members of the firm’s IP practice, advised on the deal
María Cecilia Romoleroux discusses the challenges she has faced in her career in IP and how she hopes to improve things for the next generation of women
Value-added services give in-house counsel the satisfaction that they are getting more value for money, while law firms get the opportunity to win more work
A team at Boies Schiller Flexner is advising shoe company Kizik and parent company HandsFree Labs in the dispute
Nokia’s latest enforcement actions against Geely and Transsion joining Via LA’s AAC pool were also among the top talking points
Benjamin Kelly, the firm’s fifth IP partner hire in a little over one year, has experience in patent and trade secret disputes involving complex technologies
Gift this article