ECJ Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure – Trade marks – Directive 89/104/EEC – Articles 10(1) and 12(1) – Revocation of a trade mark – Notion of genuine use of a trade mark.
‘use of the mark may in some cases be sufficient to establish genuine use within the meaning of the Directive, even if that use is not quantitatively significant. Even minimal use can therefore be sufficient to qualify as genuine, on condition that it is deemed to be justified, in the economic sector concerned, for the purpose of preserving or creating market share for the goods or services protected by the mark.
The question whether use is sufficient to preserve or create market share for those products or services depends on several factors and on a case-by-case assessment which is for the national court to carry out. The characteristics of those products or services, the frequency or regularity of the use of the mark, whether the mark is used for the purpose of marketing all the identical products or services of the proprietor or merely some of them, or evidence which the proprietor is able to provide, are among the factors which may be taken into account.’
Citations:
C-259/02, [2004] EUECJ C-259/02
Links:
Jurisdiction:
European
Cited by:
Cited – Future Publishing Ltd v The Edge Interactive Media Inc and Others ChD 13-Jun-2011
The claimant said that the defendant had infriged its rights by the use of its logo on their publications. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 05 July 2022; Ref: scu.194395