Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

[JURE SUMMARY](#SM)

## JURE SUMMARY

The first defendant, domiciled in Switzerland is registered at the World Intellectual Property Organization as owner of the industrial design. In 1990, he declared that he undertook the registration of the industrial design as trustee of the second defendant, domiciled in Austria. The German plaintiffs brought actions against the defendants before the Landgericht of Munich (DE), for the determination that this international industrial design is not valid in Germany. The Landgericht of Munich (DE) dismissed the claim for lack of international jurisdiction.
The Oberlandesgericht of Munich (DE) confirms the international jurisdiction of the German courts. Concerning the second defendant, the international jurisdiction is based on Article 16(4) Brussels Convention, concerning defendant 1, on Article 16(4) Lugano Convention which is patterned on Article 16(4) Brussels Convention. The fiction contained in Article 16(4) Brussels Convention and/or Lugano Convention (“is under the terms of an international convention deemed to have taken place”) also refers to the Hague Agreement concerning the international deposit of industrial designs, applicable here. According to Article 7(1)(a) of this Agreement, a deposit registered at the International Bureau shall have the same effect in each of the contracting States designated by the applicant in his application as if all the formalities required by the domestic law for the grant of protection had been complied with by the applicant and as if all administrative acts required to that end had been accomplished by the Office of such State. According to Article 7(1)(b) Hague Agreement, the protection of these applications in each Contracting State is determined according to domestic laws. As the present case concerns the effectiveness or nullity of an international industrial design in Germany, the German courts are therefore internationally competent for the action for a declaratory judgment pursuant to Article 16(4).

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