Dr Wolff can’t block CBD haircare brand
German cosmetics manufacturer Dr August Wolff has failed to block a UK trademark covering a range of cannabidiol-infused (CBD) hair products.
The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) ruled that the ‘Wolf’ mark was unlikely to cause confusion with the German company’s own products.
Flow Beauty Care applied for the mark last year, covering a range of hair and body products, including CBD-infused creams and shampoos.
CBD is a chemical found in the cannabis plant that is used to treat conditions including severe epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
Dr Wolff opposed the application, claiming it would cause confusion with its own brand, which includes hair lotions and cosmetics.
In its decision, the IPO criticised the quality of the German company’s evidence, finding that it included images of “such poor quality and clarity” that the ‘Dr Wolff’ mark was illegible.
This meant that Dr Wolff failed to establish genuine use of its mark for certain hair products also covered by the ‘Wolf’ application.
The German company also failed to produce figures relating to product sales, turnover, and distribution of the magazines featuring advertisements for its products.
“The opponent has chosen not to file sufficiently solid evidence, and from what has been produced, very little weight can be attached to it,” the IPO decision said.
“I have no doubt that a company of this size would have been required to produce accounts and company reports and therefore providing sales/turnover figures would have been a relatively easy task, but for whatever reason the opponent has chosen not to file such evidence,” it added.
The IPO also found the marks to be dissimilar and unlikely to cause confusion, in any case.
“There is a distinct conceptual difference therefore between Dr Wolff and the word wolf, the former clearly regarded as a doctor whose surname is Wolff, the latter giving rise to the concept of a wild canine animal,” the decision said.
The decision means Flow Beauty’s ‘Wolf’ mark will proceed to registration, while Dr Wolff must also pay £1500 ($2000) in costs.
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