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CLASS 46


Now in its twelfth year, Class 46 is dedicated to European trade mark law and practice. This weblog is written by a team of enthusiasts who want to spread the word and share their thoughts with others.

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Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh
Birgit Clark
Blog Administrator
Christian Tenkhoff
Fidel Porcuna
Gino Van Roeyen
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Niamh Hall
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Stefan Schröter
Tomasz Rychlicki
Yvonne Onomor
THURSDAY, 2 APRIL 2009
Bundesgerichtshof: STREETBALL

What is the relevant time for deciding whether a trade mark is distinctive enough to qualify for registration?

The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) recently answered this question in its court oder of 15 January 2009 ('STREETBALL', case reference I ZB 30/06):

'STREETBALL'
(Unofficial translation of the headnotes)

"The assessment as to whether a sign possesses a sufficient level of distinctiveness for the goods or services applied for has to be based upon the perspective of the relevant consumers at the time of deciding whether to grant the application to register the sign as a trade mark.

The fact that an identical sign has already been registered for the applicant covering identical goods or services, does not mean that the required standard of distinctiveness may be different, in particular it does not mean that the required standard of distinctiveness may be even lower."


The decision can be retrieved in its entirety by clicking here (in German)

Posted by: Birgit Clark @ 13.42
Tags: Bundesgerichtshof, distinctiveness, relevant consumer, relevant time,
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MARQUES does not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this blog. The views are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of MARQUES. Seek professional advice before action on any information included here.


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