A Swiss individual registered the word CANNABIS as CTM for beer, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages. A German brewery filed for cancellation, and the Cancellation Division cancelled the mark. Both the 2nd Board of Appeal as well as the CFI dismissed the appeals against the decision:

29      Against that background, it must be ascertained whether the average consumer, who is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, may think, merely on seeing a beverage which bears as a trade mark the word sign CANNABIS, and no other additional element, that the mark at issue constitutes a description of the characteristics of the goods in question.

30      In that regard, it must be pointed out that, as is apparent from paragraphs 27, 29 and 30 of the contested decision, there is a material link between the sign CANNABIS and certain characteristics of the abovementioned goods. As is apparent from the documents submitted by OHIM and the intervener, cannabis is habitually used in the manufacture of numerous foodstuffs, including beer and certain beverages. It is apparent from the same documents that some beers consisting of cannabis are currently present on the European foodstuffs market.

31      Furthermore, the word ‘cannabis’ is a Latin scientific term which is well known, first, in a number of European Community languages, as is apparent from paragraph 24 of the contested decision and as the applicant himself demonstrates in the application, and, secondly, to the general public as a result of media coverage, rendering it comprehensible to the target consumer throughout the Community (see, to that effect and by analogy, Case C-421/04 Matratzen Concord [2006] ECR I-2303, paragraph 32).

32      Those circumstances explain why, when he sees an alcoholic beverage or a beer bearing the trade mark CANNABIS, the average Community consumer will immediately perceive, without further thought, a description of the characteristics of the goods in question, in particular of cannabis, which is one of the ingredients which may be used as a flavouring in the manufacture thereof.

"Hanf-Bier" (hemp beer) was actually quite popular in Switzerland some years ago. No hopes of getting high from it, though - food laws prohibit the use of THC containing hemp to produce food stuffs (a hint to readers who would like to taste it: store the bottle horizontally; if kept upright, the hemp flavour collects at the bottom and the last sip tastes like bong-water. Not that I would know what bong-water tastes like, of course).

T‑234/06