How broad is free trademark use under the spare part exemption?

01-01-2010

Michael Lantos

Other suppliers of accessories and spare parts for branded equipment should be careful to use the brand name to designate the equipment but not the spare part, explains Michael Lantos.

Other suppliers of accessories and spare parts for branded equipment should be careful to use the brand name to designate the equipment but not the spare part, explains Michael Lantos.

Article 15 of the Hungarian Trademark Law concerns the limits of trademark protection. It states that a trademark owner cannot prevent a party from using a trademark within its commercial activities if it is necessary to indicate the goods or services, especially in the case of spare parts or components.

This raises the question of how this exemption should be interpreted and what specific use is considered sufficient to indicate the goods in the case of accessories. A recent decision of the competent Metropolitan Court has shed some light on this issue.


spare parts, Hungarian Trademark Law, components, branded equipment

WIPR