KPW

Magazine.

Call now!

All about trademarks

Digital and AI

Advertising and competition

Creativity and design

Archive

Countdown in e-commerce

Hanau Regional Court prohibits mobile phone provider from countdown advertising if the same offer is repeatedly extended under a different name.
AI logos without copyright protection

AG Munich denies copyright protection for AI-generated logos. The decisive factor is the human creative influence on the result.
Lux is not Luv

LUX vs. LUV The word mark “Lux” was applied for at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) on October 1, 2020 and registered on October 13, 2020. Following a partial surrender, it claimed protection for bathtubs, shower trays and washbasins made of steel enamel in class 11. The proprietor of the earlier EU…
Medfluencer? Doctor advertises on Instagram

Medfluencer? Gericht untersagt Arzt Werbung auf Instagram für Sonnencreme und Batterien wegen Verstoßes gegen die ärztliche Berufsordnung.
Right of action against the EDPB

ECJ: Companies can challenge binding decisions of the EDPB directly before the ECJ, even if the decision is addressed to supervisory authorities.
Abstract revocation instruction is sufficient

Entrepreneurs do not have to specifically inform consumers. It is sufficient to state the statutory conditions for withdrawal.
UK trademarks lose effect in EU opposition proceedings

The European Court of Justice has ruled that older trademarks protected in the UK can no longer serve as a basis for oppositions against EU trademark applications after Brexit. The ruling also clarifies a fundamental issue: older laws must remain valid not only at the time of application, but throughout the entire procedure. What is…
Paris Bar – Kippenberger’s co-author

Munich Higher Regional Court confirms the claim for recognition of the commissioned painter’s co-authorship of Kippenberger’s Paris Bar paintings.
Cease and desist letter for music on Instagram & TikTok

The use of music on TikTok and Instagram can quickly become expensive for companies: Copyright cease and desist letters and authorization requests for the use of music on social media are not uncommon. However, claims made should not be accepted without checking.
Motion mark versus word/figurative mark

EUIPO rejects motion mark “Lamborghini” due to likelihood of confusion with earlier Tonino Lamborghini trademarks.
Liability for fake profiles on social media

What is it all about? Someone creates several fake profiles of a real person on a major social media service – complete with real name, real photos and even the real job. The platform is made aware of this, but does not respond for weeks or months. Munich Higher Regional Court(judgment of 20.01.2026 – 18…
E-mail addresses in the association

The Federal Court of Justice decides: Association members can request email addresses of other members – even against the will of the board and despite the GDPR.
Apartment photos and data protection

OLG Zweibrücken on data protection, information & real estate photos. Is implied consent sufficient? What landlords and estate agents need to look out for.
Sharing passwords within the Group can be expensive

Trust is good, license is better Specialized information systems are indispensable in the modern corporate world. But while IT departments around the world are trying to secure access to sensitive data, pragmatic but legally risky solutions often creep into everyday working life: Sharing access data with colleagues at affiliated companies. What appears to be efficient…
WTR 1000, 2026: 1 x silver and 2 x bronze for KPW

KPW and the partners Clemens Pfitzer and Dr. Markus Wekwerth will also be recognized in the WTR 1000 ranking for trademark law experts in 2026.
No limits to the tobacco advertising ban?

Where does the tobacco advertising ban begin? The Regional Court of Heidelberg recently had to deal with this question. It came to a broad interpretation of the term “advertising” which, in our view, is not convincing and poses more problems than creating clarity for the providers concerned.
AI memorizes entire books

When the AI knows Harry Potter by heart Researchers at Stanford University have proven what many copyright holders feared: Large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok have stored copyright-protected books almost word-for-word – and can reproduce them, at least in part, on request. The study published in January 2026 provides the first…
LEGO loses design protection

The EGC confirms: A rectangular Lego brick has no individual character compared to a square predecessor design. Duplication alone is not enough.