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5
When purchasing the counterfeit
product, Coty had made payment to
the seller’s account at the German
bank Stadtsparkasse. Coty therefore
asked Stadtsparkasse for the
name and address of the account
holder. The bank refused, invoking
German banking secrecy law. Coty
sought a court order compelling
Stadtsparkasse to hand over the
information, arguing that they were
entitled to the name and address
of the bank account holder under
European intellectual property law.
Article 8 of the EU’s IP Enforcement
Directive requires member states
to ensure that information on the
origin and distribution networks
of any products which infringe
an intellectual property right can
be obtained. It specifically states
that this right should be without
prejudice to other laws that protect
the confidentiality of information
sources or the processing of
personal data, such as those
involving banking secrecy.
The CJEU was therefore asked to
decide whether Article 8 of the
Directive should trump a national
banking secrecy provision where
a party is suspected of dealing in
counterfeit goods.
The court held that Article 8 should
preclude any national law that allows
a banking institution to refuse to
provide the relevant information
in an unlimited and unconditional
manner. It is therefore now up
to the German national court to
decide whether the relevant German
banking secrecy provisions could
be applied by banks in an unlimited
and unconditional manner. If so,
that provision must be considered
unlawful on the basis that it conflicts
with EU law.
The decision emphasises the
importance of striking a fair balance
between the protection of IP rights
and the protection of personal data.
In this instance, the protection of IP
rights came out on top, signifying
good news for brand owners
in enforcing their rights against
infringers.
“When purchasing the counterfeit
product, Coty had made payment to
the seller’s account at the German bank
Stadtsparkasse. Coty therefore asked
Stadtsparkasse for the name and address
of the account holder. The bank refused,
invoking German banking secrecy law.”
