Monks put the brakes on beer-related trademark bid
The General Court has backed the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in rejecting a trademark because it merely described alcoholic goods produced in a monastery.
In a decision today, October 26, the court said German brewer Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu should not be able to trademark ‘Klosterstoff’ covering products including beer and alcoholic beverages.
‘Kloster’ means ‘monastery’ in German, while ‘stoff’ means ‘substance’ or ‘material’.
Alpirsbacher had applied for ‘Klosterstoff’ in classes 32 and 33, but this was twice rejected by the EUIPO, first by an examiner and then by the Fifth Board of Appeal.
The board gave several reasons for its decision, according to the General Court, which said “the word sign sought was a simple juxtaposition of two terms which, when combined, are descriptive” of some of the applied-for goods.
As the court added, the board said the mark lacked distinctive character as it “merely conveyed the message that the goods concerned contain alcohol and come from or were produced in a monastery. Consumers were not, therefore, able to identify the commercial origin simply by seeing the sign”.
The General Court affirmed the board’s decision on all counts, noting that the relevant public would perceive the applied-for mark as a descriptive indication, “since the average consumer would understand that the goods in question contained alcohol coming from or produced in a monastery”.
The court said the board had discussed the tradition, dating to the Middle Ages, of monasteries producing beer and spirits, “taking the view that those factors establish, in the minds of the relevant public, a clear connection between the mark sought and the goods in question”.
While Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu argued that the average consumer is unaware of such a tradition, the court disagreed.
“First of all, the possibility cannot totally be ruled that a segment of the general public has a broad general knowledge of alcoholic beverages,” it said, adding it is well known that consumers are “accustomed to seeing representations or names of monasteries in connection with spirits and beer”.
“Lastly, even if the mark sought cannot be linked to that tradition, that does not cast doubt on the fact that, upon seeing the word sign at issue here, the relevant public will understand it as a reference to goods containing alcohol coming from or produced in a monastery.”
In rejecting Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu’s case, the court ordered the brewery to pay costs.
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