The applicant sought to register a smell as a trade mark. It filed a chemical formula, a description, and a sealed container holding an example of the smell.
Held: A non-visual mark was capable of registration provided it could be represented so as to be precisely defined, so as to allow users of the registry to know what was registered. The formula represented a chemical, not its smell, the description was too uncertain, and the physical sample was neither a graphical representation, nor stable nor durable.
Judges:
Iglesias, Wathelet, Schintgen, Timmermans, Gulmann, Edward, La Pergola, Skouris, Macken, Colneric, Rodrigues JJ
Citations:
Times 27-Dec-2002, Case C-273/00
Statutes:
First Council Directive 89/104/EEC
Jurisdiction:
European
Intellectual Property
Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.178618