A Brief Note on L’Oreal and the Prohibition on Free Riding
17 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2009
Date Written: October 20, 2009
Abstract
In L'Oréal v Bellure the European Court of Justice decided that free riding, or taking advantage of the reputation enjoyed by an earlier mark, is actionable per se. In reaching this conclusion, the ECJ significantly expanded the scope of trade mark protection. This comment argues that L'Oréal's broad prohibition on free riding is theoretically unsound, runs counter to the thrust of European trade mark law and could negatively impact on the competitiveness of the European marketplace.
Keywords: Trade marks, trade mark dilution, Unfair Competition, Free Riding
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Burrell, Robert and Gangjee, Dev S., A Brief Note on L’Oreal and the Prohibition on Free Riding (October 20, 2009). University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law Research Paper No. 09-32, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1491402 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1491402
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