Tuesday 25 June 2013

Distinctiveness in slogans

Case T‑515/11, Delphi Technologies, Inc. v OHIM, involved an application to register the distinctly unpromising sign INNOVATION FOR THE REAL WORLD as a CTM for certain motor vehicle components (the application actually calls them "motor vehicle products", but the only products of a motor vehicle are the thrill of speed, which these days is hard to capture, the pleasure or at least utility of getting from A to B, and a mixture of unpleasant gases, none of which are what was intended by the applicant) and, curiously, specialised medical apparatus. Perhaps the two groups use related technology. The Court took the view that a mere advertising slogan,  if it were likely to be perceived by the relevant public as nothing more than a promotional formula, had to be regarded as devoid of distinctive character. There was no word-play, nothing imaginative, surprising or unexpected which might confer on the slogan some distinctive character. It was (my assessment, not the Court's) lazy trade mark creation. There are far too many mundane slogans registered as trade marks already, and it is good to see the Court (and the Board of Appeal, whose decision the Court upheld) setting the bar reasonably high.

No comments:

 

blogger templates | Make Money Online