Another win for perfume brands before the CJEU

Coty Prestige Lancaster Group v Simex Trading AG (C-127/09) - 3 June 2010

Does the sale of a perfume tester bottle bearing the perfume house's trade mark but also a notice that it is "not for sale" infringe the relevant trade mark? This is the essential question the Court of Justice of the European Union had to give guidance on in a case concerning tester bottles marked Davidoff, Calvin Klein and Vivienne Westwood respectively. These had been provided by the perfume house to authorised retailers in Singapore for promotional purposes. Our expert has produced an analysis of the guidance the European court provided in this case.