Log in

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.

Want to receive Class 46 by email?
Click here subscribe for free.

Who we all are...
Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh
Birgit Clark
Blog Administrator
Christian Tenkhoff
Fidel Porcuna
Gino Van Roeyen
Markku Tuominen
Niamh Hall
Nikos Prentoulis
Stefan Schröter
Tomasz Rychlicki
Yvonne Onomor
MONDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2009
Switzerland: SINO is for China

The Federal Administrative Court upheld the refusal of the Swiss IPO to protect th word mark SINO for a variety of household goods, printed matter and toys in Switzerland (note that protection was sought for the word mark, not for the depicted actual use of SINO, which is a character developed by Walter Steinbeck). At least for the French speaking public, SINO was understood as an indication of the origin of the goods from China, and therefore misleading for goods not made in China (this is the - slightly strange - Swiss approach to geographic indications. It would be more logical to say that SINO was descriptive for goods made in China, and therefore not protectable for any goods, no matter where they come from). The applicant could either limit the list of goods to goods made in China, or the extension of protection was to be refused. Since he chose not to limit the list of goods, the application was refused.

One might add that soon, a "limitation" of the list of goods to goods made in China will be no limitation in the strict sense of the word: I am getting the impression that very soon, we reach the point were everything is made in China.

Full text of the decision (in German) here.

Posted by: Mark Schweizer @ 11.15
Tags: Switzerland, absolute grounds for refusal, geographic indication, ,
Sharing on Social Media? Use the link below...
Perm-A-Link: https://www.marques.org/blogs/class46?XID=BHA1582
Reader Comments: 0
Post a Comment


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.


The Class 46 Archive






 

 

 

 

 

 


CONTACT

info@marques.org
+44 (0)116 2747355
POST ADDRESS

9 Cartwright Court, Cartwright Way
Bardon, Leicestershire
LE67 1UE

EMAIL

Ingrid de Groot
Internal Relations Officer
ingrid.de.groot@marques.org
Alessandra Romeo
External Relations Officer
aromeo@marques.org
James Nurton
Newsletter Editor
editor@marques.org
Robert Harrison
Webmaster
robertharrison@marques.org
BLOGS

Signup for our blogs.
Headlines delivered to your inbox