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12 April 2019Trademarks

CJEU sides with Fujifilm and EUIPO against German printer

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has backed Fujifilm and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in a trademark appeal from a German printing company.

In its  judgment, issued yesterday, April 11, the CJEU said that Fomanu had failed to demonstrate genuine use of its mark.

Fomanu, which offers digital printing services, owned a logo mark registered in classes 9, 16, 38, 40 and 42.

In 2015, a German subsidiary of Fujifilm applied to have Fomanu’s mark revoked on the grounds that it had not been in genuine use in the preceding five year period.

The following year, the EUIPO’s cancellation division declared the mark to have lapsed as of July 2015 in relation to all goods and services except for photographs, photographic calendars, photos on canvas and photo puzzles as printing products in class 16.

After an unsuccessful appeal to the EUIPO, Fomanu brought the case to the CJEU’s Seventh Chamber.

The CJEU found yesterday that Fomanu had failed to demonstrate genuine use of the mark in relation to CDs, DVDs and USB keys in class 9.

Fomanu offered these products to customers after the purchase of photo products as a promotional tool.

The CJEU said, however, that “the free distribution of CDs, DVDs and software bearing the contested mark does not constitute a genuine use of that mark”.

In the judgment, the CJEU also found that Fomanu had failed to demonstrate genuine use of the mark with respect to goods and services in classes, 16, 38, 40 and 42.

Fomanu was ordered to pay costs in the case.

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