Part 1 of this year’s retrospective provided a general overview over the GC case law from 2023 with numbers and a special focus on genuine use cases. Part 2 now focuses on weak marks. The reader is…
At a time when New Year’s resolutions to exercise more fizzle out for lack of motivation, many people realise what the General Court (GC) already knew: sport and entertainment do not necessarily have…
A judgment of the General Court demonstrates the controversial and problematic nature of retail services marks.
The ALDI/ALDIANO Case
The case concerns Aldi, the discount chain. An Aldi entity (in…
In two parallel decisions of 19 October 2022, the General Court confirmed the cancellation of the figurative “Lío” marks as shown above registered in the name of a German individual (let’s call…
Guerlain, the luxury French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, has emerged victorious in their three year-long attempt to obtain registration of a three-dimensional EU trade mark in respect of…
Once again, the General Court has found a three-dimensional mark consisting of a product shape not sufficiently distinctive for registration. This time, the shape in question was that of a vehicle,…
