The Perfume Industry and Intellectual Property Law in the Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union and of National Courts

A judgment rendered in summer 2010 by the European Court of Justice in Coty Prestige Lancaster Group GmbH v. Simex Trading AG(1) inspires a reflection about the position of the perfume industry and its products within the system of intellectual property law. Although the judgment deals with a specific issue concerning perfumery products, it can be considered from a wider perspective, in particular it should be read together with other cases relating to perfumes which were given by the Court in the past. While so far there are relatively few decisions on perfumes in European law, they can already be seen as developing a sui generis separate body of law (on perfume protection) within the system of intellectual property.