General Court hands TM win to Off-White
Italian fashion label Off-White has prevailed in its trademark appeal at the EU General Court, in a defeat for the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
In its decision, issued yesterday, June 25, the General Court ruled that the EUIPO was wrong to refuse registration of Off-White’s trademark for glasses, jewelry, and bedding.
Off-White applied to register the mark in classes 3, 9, 14, and 20 in 2017. The EUIPO denied the application for all goods except soap and perfumes in class 3, on the grounds that the mark was descriptive and lacked distinctiveness.
According to an EUIPO appeals board, the term off-white “referred to a colour which could reasonably be perceived as a characteristic that was significant and clearly relevant for those goods”.
The fashion brand then appealed to the General Court, arguing that there was no “direct and specific” link between the term off-white and the applied-for goods.
The General Court agreed, ruling that off-white colour was not an inherent characteristic of the goods.
“That colour is presented only as a purely random and incidental aspect which only some of those goods may have and which does not, in any event, have any direct and immediate link with their nature,” the ruling said.
The court ordered the EUIPO to pay Off-White’s legal costs, and allow the mark to be registered in classes 9, 14, and 20.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.
Today’s top stories
Online marketplaces are ‘retail services’, argues CJEU adviser
