Zaak C-231/16: Merck. Prejudiciële vragen.
Merkenrecht. A request for a preliminary ruling in a case which concerns the jurisdiction of the infringement of a number of UK-registered and international trade marks containing the word MERCK.
Prejudiciële vragen:
"1. Must the term ‘same cause of action’ in Article 109(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the European Union trade mark be interpreted as applying to the maintenance and use of a worldwide, and therefore also EU-wide, identical online internet presence under the same domain name, on account of which actions for infringement between the same parties have been brought before the courts of different Member States, one action being for infringement of an EU trade mark and the other being for infringement of a national trade mark?
2. Must the term ‘same cause of action’ in Article 109(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 be interpreted as applying to the maintenance and use of worldwide, and therefore also EU-wide, identical online content on the internet domain names ‘facebook.com’ and/or ‘youtube.com’ and/or ‘twitter.com’, in each case – as regards the relevant domain names ‘facebook.com’ and/or ‘youtube.com’ and/or ‘twitter.com’ – under the same username, on account of which actions for infringement between the same parties have been brought before the courts of different Member States, one action being for infringement of an EU trade mark and the other being for infringement of a national trade mark?
3. Must Article 109(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 be interpreted as meaning that when a ‘court other than the court first seised’ of a Member State is seised of an ‘action for infringement’ of an EU trade mark through the maintenance of a worldwide, and therefore also EU-wide, identical online website under the same domain name, and claims have been put forward to it under Article 97(2) and Article 98(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 in relation to acts of infringement committed or threatened within the territory of any of the Member States, it must decline jurisdiction under Article 109(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 only for the territory of the other Member State in which a court had been ‘first’ seised of a claim for infringement of a national trade mark (which is identical to and covers identical goods as the EU trade mark asserted before the ‘court other than the court first seised’) through the maintenance and use of...
Merkenrecht. A request for a preliminary ruling in a case which concerns the jurisdiction of the infringement of a number of UK-registered and international trade marks containing the word MERCK.
Prejudiciële vragen:
"1. Must the term ‘same cause of action’ in Article 109(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the European Union trade mark be interpreted as applying to the maintenance and use of a worldwide, and therefore also EU-wide, identical online internet presence under the same domain name, on account of which actions for infringement between the same parties have been brought before the courts of different Member States, one action being for infringement of an EU trade mark and the other being for infringement of a national trade mark?
2. Must the term ‘same cause of action’ in Article 109(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 be interpreted as applying to the maintenance and use of worldwide, and therefore also EU-wide, identical online content on the internet domain names ‘facebook.com’ and/or ‘youtube.com’ and/or ‘twitter.com’, in each case – as regards the relevant domain names ‘facebook.com’ and/or ‘youtube.com’ and/or ‘twitter.com’ – under the same username, on account of which actions for infringement between the same parties have been brought before the courts of different Member States, one action being for infringement of an EU trade mark and the other being for infringement of a national trade mark?
3. Must Article 109(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 be interpreted as meaning that when a ‘court other than the court first seised’ of a Member State is seised of an ‘action for infringement’ of an EU trade mark through the maintenance of a worldwide, and therefore also EU-wide, identical online website under the same domain name, and claims have been put forward to it under Article 97(2) and Article 98(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 in relation to acts of infringement committed or threatened within the territory of any of the Member States, it must decline jurisdiction under Article 109(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 only for the territory of the other Member State in which a court had been ‘first’ seised of a claim for infringement of a national trade mark (which is identical to and covers identical goods as the EU trade mark asserted before the ‘court other than the court first seised’) through the maintenance and use of...