CJEU Rules Both State of TM Registration or Advertiser's Domicile Can Have Jurisdiction

摘要

The owner of an Austrian trade mark registration brought proceedings in the Austrian courts against a German advertiser using a keyword identical to that trade mark on the .de version of Google. Following a referral by the Austrian court relating to the appropriate jurisdiction for such proceedings, the CJEU has held that an action for infringement of a trade mark registered in one member state against an advertiser using a keyword identical to that trade mark on a search engine operating under the country-specific top-level domain name of another member state may be brought in either the courts in the jurisdiction where: (i) the trade mark is registered; or (ii) the advertiser is established.