At the Helsinki IP Summit online event, you will hear a presentation by Kaulo & Partners’ licensed legal counsels Jani Kaulo & Maria Puronvarsi on an interesting law case that Managing Intellectual Property selected as the Impact Case of the Year 2021 in Finland. The case C 772/18 has been processed at the Supreme Court of Finland and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and it will align the legal practice in Europe, the rights of brand owners and the liability of private individuals as part of counterfeit supply chain.
“The preliminary ruling of the CJEU in May 2020 stating that a private person can be held liable for compensation and damages for trademark infringement when acting as an intermediary in counterfeit trade is a significant victory for all European brand holders. The ruling is also important from the point of view of public security, and it will provide more effective means in the fight against counterfeiting and organized crime”, Jani Kaulo sums up the significance of the case.
This complex, multi-stage and over 10 years long legal process began in 2011 when Finnish airport customs seized a batch of 150 counterfeit INA ball bearings on their way from China via Finland to Russia. The products were received and stored by an individual who acted as a bulwark, on behalf of the seller.
Schaeffler AG, the German manufacturer of the original INA bearings used among others in bridges and engines, initiated legal proceedings and demanded that the person acting as intermediary in the counterfeit supply chain shall be punished for an industrial property offense and convicted of trademark infringement.
Jani Kaulo has handled the legal process as the representative of the German brand owner Schaeffler AG since 2013, and Maria Puronvarsi since 2016. Next, the claims for compensation and damages will still be handled at the Helsinki Court of Appeal in the autumn of 2022.
What is the impact of this case to legal praxis?
You will hear the presentation and insights by Jani Kaulo and Maria Puronvarsi on this theme on Thursday, November 11 at 9:30-10:15 under the title “The role of private person in trademark infringement - Case Study: C 772/18 (MIP Impact Case of 2021)”.
Maria Puronvarsi, maria.puronvarsi@kaulopartners.fi, +358 40 669 0527
Jani Kaulo, jani.kaulo@kaulopartners.fi, +358 40 637 5442
About Helsinki IP Summit
Helsinki IP Summit is the biggest IPR event in Finland and in Scandinavia. It is targeted to IP practitioners, business leaders and managers, startups, law and business students and academics in the IPR field. The event is organized by the IPR University Center. This year's Helsinki IP Summit is a two-day hybrid event, which can be attended both online by following the live stream or on site at the Paasitorni Congress Center in Helsinki.
The event will feature speeches by more than forty IPR professionals and business representatives on current IPR topics.
See the program on the event's website and register by October 29, 2021.
