Europe – Fashion Law Watch

EU Designs: Genuine Design Activity and Intellectual Effort are not Required for Protection

Jul 18 2025

Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou has delivered his opinion in the case Deity Shoes, S.L. v Mundorama Confort, S.L. and another (Case C 323/24). The case considers whether a footwear design made by Deity Shoes, S.L. (Deity Shoes) qualified for protection as a design in the European Union and raised important questions about the relevance of the status of the designer’s effort and skill and surrounding factors in the assessment of design.

Perfume, Proof, and Parallel Imports: How Coty’s Traceability System Won a Trade Mark War

Jun 29 2025

Background

On 16 April 2025, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands handed down a decision relating to the complex issue of trade mark exhaustion in the context of parallel trade disputes.

Influenced by Influencers? Legislative Updates to Illegal Content in the Digital Age

Jun 12 2024

Recent legislative updates have emerged in France, focusing on the intricate balance between national regulation and European Union directives —especially relevant to the evolving sector of commercial influence. The French law no. 2024-356, passed on 22 April 2024 (DADDUE Law), has granted the government a nine-month window to modify previous statutes to align with European standards.

Walking the Fine “Broken” Line in Designs

Dec 13 2023

In many jurisdictions, it is customary for claimed features of a design to be depicted in solid lines while disclaimed features of a design are shown in broken lines.

In Australia, unless parts of the product are separable, a design will be read as being the overall article represented and the parts with broken lines are not completely disregarded.

Best Practices for Preparing for and Responding to a “Dawn Raid”

Nov 20 2023

Recently, several fashion houses were raided by European Union antitrust regulators based on concerns that these companies may have violated laws against cartels and restrictive business practices. Relatedly, in the United States, the current administration has been very aggressive in its enforcement of antitrust laws with a new “Won’t Back Down” approach towards litigation and increased investigative activity. The current landscape should serve as a reminder why it’s important to, first and foremost, ensure compliance with the antitrust laws around the world, but also to be prepared should the government come knocking.

The Hermès Effect

Jan 17 2023

Hermès 3D trademark saga in Italy might have come to an end following the Italian Supreme Court (Court) decision issued on 17 October 2022, No 30455.

The trial saga started way back in 2009 before the Court of Florence, when Hermès International S.c.p.a. and Hermès Italie S.p.A. (jointly, Hermès), sued Buti Amerigo & C s.a.s., Buti Srl, and Buti Italia Srl (jointly, Buti) for unfair competition and for IP infringements due to the production and the marketing of counterfeit Kelly and Birkin handbags, in violation of EU TMs 2083327 and 4467247; as well as Italian TMs 1003725; 1003726; 1003725, and 1003726 (jointly, the Trademarks).

Nov 17 2022

Another unfavourable decision on non-traditional trade marks has landed, now in relation to Dior’s iconic Saddle bag. The EUIPO’s Second Board of Appeal decided that Dior’s Saddle bag is not distinctive with respect to handbags. The decision is seen as surprising yet not unpredictable, given the recent history of unsuccessful trade mark applications for 3D signs (for example, see our previous article on the Moon Boot case here).

Fashion Law Update – August 2022 Edition

Aug 18 2022

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the why we live, what is happening.”
Coco Chanel

In this edition of Fashion Law, we cover a range of topics which are having an impact on businesses and consumers in the fashion and luxury products sector worldwide.

Just Seen to be Green? CMA Launches Investigation Into Three Fashion Companies

Aug 16 2022

The trend of regulators cracking down on misleading green claims or the so-called “greenwashing” continues this week. In the latest development, on Friday 29 July 2022, the British competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), launched an investigation into the eco-friendly claims of retailers Asos, Boohoo, and Asda.

Influencers and Digital Advertising

Jun 09 2022

Over the past decade, influence marketing has changed the way advertising is handled by companies. Influencers have entered the marketing world by leveraging massive followings on social media platforms, and brands have recognised the value of the new category of advertising professionals.

Even though the use of influencers has become a mainstay of advertising, French legislation has yet to meet this evolution, resulting in an often opaque legal framework.

The broad spread-out provisions applicable to influencers also generate difficulties in understanding influencers legal status, in particular when they are underage. This notably raises the question whether influencers are employees of the brands they advertise for—and therefore subject to labor law—or if they should be considered independent contractors, with their relationship with brands subject to commercial legislation.

Such opaque legal framework raises questions about the applicable regime, as well as the legal status of influencers. Even though there is no specific regime for influencers, recent legislation was adopted in order to protect children influencers (see our previous alert here).

Tag:Europe