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General Court: red shoelaces lack distinctive character
In Case T-208/12, the General Court upheld the findings of OHIM that the following figurative mark lacks distinctive character for Class 25 goods , namely “shoes, in particular shoelaces”
Registration of this mark was refused according to Article 7(1) b) CTMR because the red aglets on shoelaces did not create a significant different impression from usual shoes with laces and the consumer will only see a mere variant of design in the wide shoe market with a colored ornament which doesn’t stop at the aglets . The Applicant Think Schuhwerk GmbH did not bring forward evidence that the consumer is in the habit of perceiving shoelaces as an indication of origin.
The court rejected the Applicant’s argument that the relevant public pays higher attention to those details when trying out (comfort) shoes marketed with these shoelaces since the distinctive character must be analysed with respect to the description of the goods for which it is registered.
Posted by: Laetitia Lagarde @ 18.10Tags: General Court, absolute grounds, shoe laces,,
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