Trademark infringement
Supreme Court judgment 2 June 2020, HR-2020-1142-A, (case no. 19-141420SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
Henrik Huseby (Counsel Per Harald Gjerstad) v. Apple Inc (Counsel Sigurd Holter Torp)
Justices: Møse, Matheson, Falkanger, Ringnes, Høgetveit Berg
A Norwegian mobile phone repair shop had imported a batch of unoriginal mobile phone screens, affixed with the figure mark Apple Inc. The mark, which had been affixed without consent, was covered with a marker. The Supreme Court found that the import of the screens was incompatible with section 4 subsection 3 (c), cf. subsection 1 (a) of the Trademarks Act. It was mentioned that the covering could be removed, and did thus not permanently exclude the risk of harm to the trademark's function. The covering could in any case cause confusion with regard to the product's origin. The fact that it could be unclear whether it was an original screen or a copy was in itself sufficient to establish a risk of harm to the trademark's function.