IPEC finds marks descriptive in dispute between educational charities

In NOCN (Formerly National Open College Network) v Open College Network Credit4Learning, a trademark infringement and passing-off dispute between two educational charities concerning the use of the term 'Open College Network' and its abbreviation 'OCN', the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has held that neither party could claim trademark rights or goodwill in either term due to their wholly descriptive nature.