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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Switzerland: JumboLine not distinctive for windows
The Federal Adminstrative Court held, like the Swiss IPO before it, that the sign JumboLine lacks distinctiveness for windows. Consumers would understand JUMBO as "gigantic, very big", and LINE as "product line", and JumboLine in connection with the claimed goods therefore as "line of very big windows". In view of this "clear case" of lack of distinctiveness, foreign registrations (among them as a Community Trade Mark) were not decisive.
The decision could theoretically be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court; however, the Supreme Court has sided with the IPO in every single case concerning the lack of distinctiveness of word marks for the last 12 years, so there is probably little to be gained from an appeal. This decision once more reinforces the overly strict practice of the Swiss authorities regarding lack of distinctiveness, which is incompatible with the European approach by the OAMI.
Unable to attend the MARQUES conference this year, I wish all participants JUMBO fun - hope to be able to join again next year!
Link to summary of decision of 28 July 2011.
Tags: Switzerland, absolute grounds of refusal,
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