In Case T-233/10, the applicant Nike International Ltd registered the sign JUMPMAN for goods in Class 25 which was opposed by Intermar Simanto Nahmias on the basis of earlier Spanish and Community marks JUMP registered in class 25.

The Opposition Division and Board of Appeal upheld the opposition on the basis of the earlier Spanish word mark. The relevant public is the general public in Spain. The goods in Class 25 covered by the signs at issue are identical, since the contested goods are included in the broad categories covered by the earlier mark. The earlier mark has distinctive character which will not be understood by the Spanish public and will be perceived as fanciful term.

The signs at issue are visually and phonetically similar. A conceptual comparison is not relevant in the present case since the signs at issue are composed of ‘fanciful terms’ and it is ‘unlikely that the average Spanish consumer will understand the meaning of the English word “jump”’. However, if part of the public understands the meaning of the word“jump”, then the marks at issue have a conceptual similarity to the extent that they share this term. The General Court therefore confirmed that there is a likelihood of confusion between the signs at issue on the part of the relevant public.