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German Federal Supreme Court: SPA II
"SPA II" - headnotes:
a) Where a trade mark term inlcudes a descriptive term, the ground of refusal under section 8 (2) No. 2 German Trade Marks Act (MarkenG) may also apply if the term in question has not yet acquired a definite conceptual contour/meaning ["feste begriffliche Konturen"] and where a unanimous opinion regarding its meaning has not (yet) been formed.
b) The term "SPA" is, inter alia, a descriptive indication for perfumeries, body and beauty care preparations and spa services and as such should be kept free ["freihaltebedürftig"] in the sense of section 8 (2) No. 2 MarkenG.
Case reference: Beschluss (court order) I ZB 53/05 of 13 March 2008.
The case can be retrieved in its entirety (German, PDF) by clicking here.
Class 46 comment: By way of background information, just like the English term "wellness", the term "spa" is a term that has only recently been introduced into the German language. A brief check of the English/German dicitionary reveals that is open to several German translations: Quelle (well), Mineralquelle (mineral spring), Kurort (health resort), Bad (bath).
Tags: Bundesgerichtshof, German trade marks,
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