Court of Justice clarifies meaning of ‘in the course of trade’ for a private individual (A v B)

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of this case?
• What was the background?
• What did the court decide?
• Case details

Article summary

IP analysis: The Court of Justice has clarified the meaning of ‘in the course of trade’ for activities carried out by a private individual, rather than a business. It has held that a person who does not engage in trade as an occupation, who takes delivery of, releases for free circulation in a Member State and retains goods that are manifestly not intended for private use, where those goods were sent to his or her address from a third country and where a trade mark, without the consent of the proprietor of that trade mark, is affixed to those goods, must be regarded as using that trade mark in the course of trade, within the meaning of Article 5(1) of Directive 2008/95/EC.