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The Principality finally prevails – MONTE CARLO not registrable for key chains and tale watches
Judgment No 194/2009 of the Greek Council of State , the country’s supreme administrative court, crowned with success the effort of the Principality of Monaco to annul the registration of the Greek trade mark “MONTE CARLO” for accessories, key chains and table watches in class 14.
The story begins in 1997, when a Greek trader filed “MONTE CARLO” as a trade mark in class 14. The Trademarks Administrative Committee (TAC) refused registration on the basis of art 3 para. 1 (c) of the Greek Trade Marks Act (Act No. 2239/1994), which prohibits the registration as trade mark of a sign consisting exclusively of indications, which may be used in the course of trade to identify, amongst others, the geographical origin of the designated products.
The TAC held that MONTE CARLO is the capital of the Principality of Monaco (a common misperception in Greece) and thus the mark in question may mislead consumers as to the geographical origin of the products covered by the mark. The trade mark applicant filed a recourse action before the First Instance Administrative Court of Athens, but failed. However, in 2004, on appeal, he succeeded in overturning TAC’s decision.
Then the Principality came onto the stage. As a third party, not notified of the procedure at an earlier stage, it was entitled to file a “third-party opposition” before the Court of Appeal. The opposition was filed but rejected on the ground that the administrative region of MONTE CARLO (see – the Court of Appeal got its geography straight) is not known to the average consumer as a place where key chains and accessories are produced regardless of whether the word MONTE CARLO links to the minds of consumers the products covered by the mark with luxury and fine quality.
The Principality of Monaco appealed before the Greek Council of State and succeeded. In its above judgment, the Council of State adopted the reasoning of the TAC and held that the trade mark should not be registered.
A few things about the relationship between MONACO and MONTE CARLO. A cool Greek song entitled MONTE CARLO here
Posted by: Nikos Prentoulis @ 07.45Tags: absolute grounds for refusal, Greek supreme court, Greek trade marks, Monaco, Monte Carlo,
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