So you finally got your trademark registration and now you can go ahead and use it, and get back some good revenues out of your hard work. But what if you put your trademark on a product manufactured by a third party? Can you end up being held liable for damages caused by a defect of such product, even though you are not the ‘producer’?
This was in essence what the Court of Justice (CJEU) had to decide on reference from the Finnish Supreme Court in C-264/21 of July 07, 2022, Keskinäinen Vakuutusyhtiö Fennia (Fennia) v Koninklijke Philips NV, and the answer was yes, you can.
The facts go as follows. Saeco International Group SpA and Philips Oy are both subsidiaries of Koninklijke Philips which is the owner of the registered trademarks ‘Philips’ and ‘Saeco’. Saeco manufacturers coffee machines and Philips Oy sells them in the EU under the trademarks ‘Philips’ and ‘Saeco’. Read more