EU update
Section snippets
Intellectual property
No developments.
Copyright and trade marks
No developments.
Patents
No developments.
European Commission issues public consultation on EU–US international agreement on personal data protection and information sharing
On 5 February 2010 the European Commission announced a public consultation on the future EU–US international agreement on personal data protection and information sharing for law enforcement purposes. Pursuant to the Stockholm Programme, which sets out the EU’s policy framework in the area of Justice, Freedom and Security for 2010–2014, the European Council invited the Commission to “propose a recommendation for the negotiation of data protection and, where necessary, data sharing agreement for
Competition
No developments.
European Commission launches public consultation on the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme
On 4 March 2010 the European Commission called on interested parties to submit their input regarding the content of a proposal for a multiannual Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) that the Commission intends to submit to the European Parliament and the European Council by the middle of this year. According to the Commission, the RSPP “will take the form of a legislative proposal by the Commission to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council”. The Commission presented a number of
E-Commerce
No developments.
European Commission presents report on Safer Social Networking Principles
On 9 February 2010, Safer Internet Day, the European Commission announced the results of an evaluation report on the progress of the Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU. These were signed last year by 20 social networking companies including Facebook and YouTube. 19 out of the 23 sites run by the signatory companies gave safety tips and information specifically targeted to children and teenagers. The Commission also found that minors are generally empowered by companies to protect
Media
No developments.
Outsourcing
No developments.
Court of Justice strikes a fine balance between trade mark owners and keyword advertisers
The Court of Justice of the European Union has delivered its long-awaited decision in Google France and Google Inc. v Louis Vuitton Malletier, Google France v Viaticum Luteciel, and Google France v CNRRH and others.1 It has concluded that Google is not liable for trade mark infringement in relation to its AdWords programme, but that advertisers may be.
The Court of Justice has held that:
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In the conduct of its keyword service in which advertisers may