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ECJ takes delivery of DHL reference

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

On his travels at the moment, IPKat team member Jeremy was just checking the Curia website for hot news and he found this: a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Communities of a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation, France, lodged on 29 June 2009 but so far quite unknown to him: it's Case C-235/09 DHL Express France SAS v Chronopost SA. Anyway, the questions referred to this august tribunal are these:

"1. Must Article 98 of Council Regulation ... 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark be interpreted as meaning that the prohibition issued by a Community trade mark court has effect as a matter of law throughout the entire area of the Community? [This Regulation was repealed on 13 April 2009 by Council Regulation 207/2009. Presumably an unkindly literal interpretation of this question requires the answer "no"]

2. If not, is that court [Which court? None has so far been mentioned in these questions] entitled to apply specifically that prohibition to the territories of other States in which the acts of infringement are committed or threatened?

3. In either case, are the coercive measures which the court, by application of its national law, has attached to the prohibition issued by it applicable within the territories of the Member States in which that prohibition would have effect?

4. In the contrary case [Contrary to what?], may that court order such a coercive measure, similar to or different from that which it adopts pursuant to its national law, by application of the national laws of the States in which that prohibition would have effect?"

Does any reader know what set of facts generated this reference? Or indeed, wails Merpel, what exactly the questions mean?

Full post as published by IPKat on September 01, 2009 (boomark / email).