Europa The registered mark consisted of the shape of a commonplace product, an Easter bunny, of a kind which many producers had made and sold in Germany and Austria for years. Though Lindt had proceeded under national law against others who made an identical product, after the registration of the mark it began to take legal proceedings against those whose products, though not identical, were similar so that there was a likelihood of confusion. The defendants alleged bad faith in the registration of the trade mark.
Held: It was relevant that a third party had long used a sign for an identical or similar product capable of being confused with the mark applied for, and that that sign enjoyed some degree of legal protection. The applicant’s aim in obtaining registration might be to compete unfairly with a competitor who is using a sign which had gained some degree of legal protection. It was relevant that the registered mark consisted of the entire shape and presentation of the product, that being restricted for technical or commercial reasons, so that the registration, if valid, would prevent competitors not only from using a particular sign but also from marketing similar products at all.
C-529/07, [2009] EUECJ C-529/07 – O, [2009] EUECJ C-529/07
Bailii, Bailii
European
Cited by:
Cited – Hotel Cipriani Srl and Others v Cipriani (Grosvenor Street) Ltd and Others CA 24-Feb-2010
The claimants owned Community and UK trade marks in the name ‘Cipriani’. The defendants operated a restaurant in London using, under the licence of another defendant, the same name. The claimant sought an injunction to prevent further use of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 12 January 2022; Ref: scu.322754