If an unregistered trademarks gains distinctiveness, it can become a acquired distinctiveness trademark. This will usually develops when a specific trademark is promoted via advertising and commercial use. As a result the public will associate a service or good with the trademark resulting in acquired distinctiveness.
A trademark will not gain distinctiveness overnight, this usually will take years.
Deutsche Telekom’s Benelux trademark registration for a magenta colour mark was invalidated by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) because it was unable to prove acquired distinctiveness throughout the Benelux[1]. The decision is an important reminder that non-traditional trademarks are often found to be ab initio devoid of distinctive character, and that the bar…
19/10/2022 T-275/21, DEVICE OF A CHEQUERBOARD PATTERN (fig.), EU:T:2022:654 The French designer’s iconic fabric, one that is no stranger to catwalks and maison de couture around the world, has found itself in the courtroom, again, after a 5 year battle with the EUIPO. The fashion conscious and lovers of luxury will surely be familiar with…
The General Court of the European Union (“GCEU”), annulling the Board of Appeal (“BOA”) decision, found that L’Oreal’s K K WATER mark is not confusingly similar to Heinze’s earlier K mark. It was not disputed that the hair treatment goods covered by L’Oreal’s K K WATER mark in Class 3 (a sub-brand of its leading house…
No doubt that it is difficult to come by a registration to a single colour – especially in Denmark. Only two existing registrations for a single colour are in effect currently. One owned by Grundfos Management A/S to for circulating pumps in Class 7 and the other, the most recent single colour registration is from 2022,…
Dispute and Facts Munich SL owns an EU registration of 2004 for the following figurative mark: This representation means that the crossed stripes are placed on the side of a shoe. The registration covers ʻSports footwearʼ (class 25). In 2010, Munich SL sued Deichmann SE before the Regional Court of Düsseldorf for the infringement of…
The Israeli Deputy Registrar, in a recent decision, overturned a rejection made by the examiner, and allowed the registration of a trademark for the Hebrew transliteration of “Chef Line” in classes 11 and 35 (Trademark Application No. 315406). In her decision, the Deputy Registrar accepted the arguments of the applicant, A.M. Chef Line Limited, which…
So, a million years in the future, an alien lands on the moon and sees this footprint. The alien quickly accesses the GWW (Galaxy Wide Web) and discovers that it was left by one astronaut of the little blue world nearby (perhaps worth a visit, according to prior reviews left by other interstellar visitors). The…
Summary Tefal applied to register “a plain red dot affixed centrally to the bottom of a cooking receptacle (such as a pan, saucepan)” (below). The goods covered were “frying pans, saucepans, casseroles, stew-pans, cooking pots, crepe pans, grills, woks” in Class 21. The UK IPO refused the application because Tefal had not shown that…
Two sports companies, Sports Group Denmark A/S (“Sports Group”) and WaterNlife ApS (“WaterNlife”) conflicted over the use of ENDURANCE as a trademark for sports clothing. Sports Group had registered the device trademark However, the trademark was not used as registered. Mostly, Sports Group used the mark in a much simpler and minimalistic version that looked…
In Denmark – as in the EU – it is possible to overcome an absolute ground for refusal based on non-distinctive character of the mark applied for if the applicant is able to provide proof that the mark applied for has acquired distinctive character through use prior to the application date, see Article 7(3) EUTMR…
