Region: European Union

A recent judgment of the General Court provides guidance on how to interpret Article 7(1)(e) of the EU Trademark Regulation and the relevance of evidence claimed to demonstrate that the relevant public perceives a 3D shape as a trademark.

16 July 2024

Featured in WTR Special Report Q2 2024: Training your defence: the sports brand playbook

15 July 2024

The second instalment in our series highlighting Legal Updates you may have missed explores recent successes for Canada Goose, Hermès, Lacoste and Skechers.

12 July 2024

We kick off our latest series highlighting Legal Updates you may have missed by examining the lessons learned from unsuccessful attempts to register non-traditional position marks.

11 July 2024

In a dispute over the refusal to register a 3D Volvo mark, the ECJ has held that headlights have become distinguishing features of vehicle brands and models.

08 July 2024

The EUIPO Fifth Board of Appeal has annulled the EU trademark PRISECCO based on the prior protected destination of origin ‘Prosecco’.

05 July 2024

The decision is interesting in that the Board of Appeal took judicial notice of many “well-known facts” concerning the jewellery sector.

02 July 2024

The court dismissed Google’s argument that the initial letter ‘G’ in its GPAY mark played a significant distinctive – and potentially dominant – role in that mark.

01 July 2024

The court has confirmed that FOOTWARE refers to the ‘intended purpose’ of the relevant goods and services, which is a characteristic expressly listed in Article 7(1)(c). 

28 June 2024

In a “particularly severe” decision, the General Court confirmed that there was no likelihood of confusion between TOUR DE X and the earlier TOUR DE FRANCE marks.

27 June 2024