Monzo withdraws UK TM for ‘hot coral’ signature cards
Monzo has withdrawn its application to trademark the signature colour of its bank cards in the UK after failing to convince the European Board of Appeal of its distinctiveness.
In a statement to WIPR today, November 7, Monzo confirmed that it had withdrawn its application to register the colour Hot Coral Pantone 805 C at the UK Intellectual Property Office ( UKIPO).
The news comes shortly after the European Intellectual Property Office’s ( EUIPO) Board of Appeal held that the applied-for mark is “inherently devoid of any distinctive character” on September 23.
While Monzo’s reason for withdrawing its application at the UKIPO has not been made public, Chris McLeod, a partner at Elkington + Fife, said an educated guess would suggest that “the UKIPO would have raised similar objections to those of the EUIPO and that Monzo would have withdrawn the UK application rather than allowing the UKIPO to refuse it”.
In its decision, the Board of Appeal said the evidence showed that the European public is accustomed to seeing bank cards in colours such as red, orange, pink, or violet.
When confronted with a “hot coral” Monzo card, the public would “simply perceive the colour as a decorative element of banking cards … but not per se as a badge of commercial origin”, the board said.
While the EUIPO’s decision will not stop Monzo from using the colour, McLeod said it will make it more difficult for it to stop competitors from using the same, or similar colours.
“The decision of the EUIPO Board of Appeal confirms the continued difficulty in registering single-colour marks. Monzo filed a considerable amount of evidence intended to show that the mark was inherently distinctive and ‘exceptional’, but they did not claim distinctiveness acquired through use,” McLeod said.
“In the absence of evidence of acquired distinctiveness, which is a very high hurdle for single-colour marks, it appears close to impossible to register such marks other than in relation to very specific and specialist goods or services,” he added.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories:
James Dean returning to screen after film producers secure IP rights
SMEs making ‘good use’ of European patent system: EPO report
