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German Federal Patent Court: CCCP
On 21 January 2009, the German Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) had to decide on the registrability of the Soviet Union's former state symbol "CCCP" for goods in class 25. An (unofficial) translation of the court's headnote is set out below:
The acronym "CCCP", which refers to the former Soviet Union, is subject to a need to be kept free (Freihaltebedürfnis) under § 8 (2)No. 2 German Trade Mark Act for the goods clothing, t-shirts, sweatshirts .
Brief summary: the Federal Patent Court took the view that an out of date indication of geographical origin (such as a former official state symbol) can still be descriptive in the sense of § 8 (2) No 2 German Trade Mark Act. Such a sign may not registrable as a trade mark, if it is still "alive" in the sense that a part of the relevant trade circles perceives it as a reference to the geographic origin of the goods covered by the trade mark.
Article 8(2) No 2 of the German Trade Marks Act provides as follows:
Posted by: Birgit Clark @ 12.36The following trade marks shall not be registered: (...)
2. those which consist exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the services, or other characteristics of the goods.
Tags: Bundespatentgericht, statesymbol,



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