How far can a software trademark reach? Autonomous cars put EU rules to the test
By Inbar Preiss ( September 21, 2026, 14:22 GMT | Comment) -- A dispute over Deutsche Bahn's Kira trademark for autonomous-driving software and vehicles has prompted the European Union Intellectual Property Office to ask its top appeal board whether “computer software” is too vague a category for trademark protection, and how far software marks can reach into physical products.EU trademark authorities are set to decide whether “computer software” is too vague to clearly define what a trademark protects, in a case that could affect how software-related trademarks are treated in digital industries....
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