Newsletter May 2007
EMPLOYMENT
New Employer after Bankruptcy is a "Subsequent
Employer"
A recent judgment of the Dutch Supreme Court set out that the
employment contracts entered into before a bankruptcy are counted
in with regard to the maximum of temporary contracts before an
employment contract for an indefinite period will arise. The
undertaking that takes over the bankrupt undertaking must be
regarded as a subsequent employer and must therefore take into
account that a subsequent employment contract with the employees of
the bankrupt undertaking will immediately become an employment
contract for an indefinite period of time.
read more
Employee Also Bound by Non-Competition Clause After a
Change of Position
Since the Dutch Supreme Court gave its opinion on the validity of
non-competition clauses after a change of position in two judgments
dated 5 January 2007, it has become a lot harder for employees to
escape from a non-competition clause.
read more
EU AND
COMPETITION
Elevator Builders Are
Not on the Way Up
On 21 February 2007 several manufacturers of elevators and
escalators in the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium were
imposed fines by the European Commission for participation in a
cartel. According to the Commission this participation was contrary
to European rules of competition, in this case Article 81 of the EC
Treaty.
read more
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
The Moral Rights of
Architects
The Judge in Preliminary Relief Proceedings of the Court of
Amsterdam has ruled that home-owner Van Tiggelen must rebuild his
house in such a way that it conforms to the design of the architect
Dijkman and that he must fully compensate the architect's legal
costs.
read more
Car Brand and Toy Car
This case concerns the question whether car manufacturer Opel
can take action against the use of its logo on toy cars.
read more
Three Stripes Versus Two Stripes
At the end of the nineties, Adidas instituted legal proceedings
based on its three-stripe trademark, in which proceedings Adidas
requested the Court to prohibit Marca et al. from using a
two-stripe motif on sportswear. The Court ruled that the two-stripe
motif infringed Adidas' trademark right.
read more
KPN Green Void - Use in the Netherlands
Insufficient
Since 1989 KPN keeps the following green color registered as a
Benelux trademark:
Mobistar, a Belgian GSM operator, also registered a green color in
January 2000 with the former Benelux Trademark Office. KPN then
claimed before the Commercial Court in Brussels that Mobistar
should stop using this green color.
read more
MEDIA
Mob Friend vs. Small-Minded Pseudo Journalist
Media personality Jort Kelder and Dutch attorney
Bram Moszkowicz have been fighting each other fiercely on radio,
television, the Internet and in the press.
read more
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Law Amendment for the Installation, Maintenance and
Clearance of Cables
The already existing regime to tolerate the
installation, maintenance and clearance of cables for public
electronic communication networks of Chapter 5 of the Dutch
Telecommunications Act has been amended as of 1 February 2007.
Although the main rules of the regime to tolerate are not amended,
there are some amendments that may be of interest for practice.
read more