Protecting Your Assets: L'oreal v. Bellure

Abstract

In what may be the most significant case for brands and trade marks in the last five years, the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) issued a decision in June in a case referred from the English Court of Appeal: L'Oréal v. Bellure. This is a landmark case that confirms that brand owners should have a legal right to prevent egregious look-alikes that intentionally trade off the brand image established by the brand owner, and sets much clearer limits on the boundaries of unlawful behaviour.