Court of Justice 6 November 2001, C-273/00 (Ralf Sieckmann v Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt.)

Opinion of the Advocate-General Opinion of the Advocate-General 1. The reference for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Bundespatentgericht (Federal Patents Court) (Germany) concerns the interpretation of Article 2 of First Council Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks(2) (hereinafter the First Directive). 2.