The long running dispute over the SKYPE trade mark is coming to an end.
In an earlier post, we reported that Skype Utld ("Skype") had appealed the General Court’s decision to refuse its applications to register the word SKYPE and the SKYPE logo as Community trade marks. The marks had been opposed by Sky plc and Sky IP International Ltd (together "Sky") on the basis of their prior rights in SKY.
We can now report that Sky has withdrawn its oppositions which means there is no need for the CJEU to rule on Skype's appeals. Skype's applications should proceed to registration as a result.
After almost ten years of dispute, the parties agreed to settle their differences. This was noted by the CJEU when bringing Skype's appeals to a close. We can also see that at least two of Sky's oppositions were withdrawn following a restriction of the services covered by Skype's applications, suggesting that a deal was done.