UKIPO upholds ‘Easy Pho’ trademark in blow to easyGroup
The owner of UK-based airline easyJet has failed to persuade the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to invalidate a Vietnamese food company’s trademark for noodles.
The IPO delivered its decision on Monday, November 16.
Cong Ty Co Phan Thuc Pham Thien Huong, trading as Vietnamese food company Thien Huong Food, registered a graphic trademark at the IPO in 2018. The mark features the words ‘Easy Pho’ within a square and a woman wearing a hat incorporated into the ‘P’.
Thien Huong Food’s trademark is registered in class 30, to cover instant noodles, instant porridge, soft instant noodles, and instant noodles with seasoned and sautéd beef.
In 2019, easyGroup applied to have the ‘Easy Pho’ trademark declared as invalid.
In its application, easyGroup relied on its earlier-registered EU word marks. ‘easyGroup’, ‘easyPizza’, and ‘easyJet’, and a graphic EU mark which shows the words ‘easyFoodstore’ in white font within an orange rectangle.
The four easyGroup trademarks, which were registered between 2015 and 2017, cover a range of food and drinks, as well as retail services and holiday accommodation, in classes 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, and 43.
Use of the ‘Easy Pho’ trademark takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the reputation of easyGroup’s earlier marks, easyGroup argued.
easyGroup also claimed that a likelihood of confusion arises due to the similarity of the goods and services covered by the easyGroup trademarks, and the goods covered by the ‘Easy Pho’ mark.
The IPO found that the foods covered by the ‘Easy Pho’ mark can be described as “snack foods”, and that these “overlap in nature” to some of the foodstuffs covered by easyGroup’s marks.
When comparing the ‘Easy Pho’ trademark to easyGroup’s marks, the IPO noted that all start with the word ‘Easy’. It added that ‘Easy Pho’ is presented in a stylised font with a device element of the behatted woman, as well as having stylised border elements.
Overall, “the visual and aural difference between the marks are sufficient to ensure that they will not be misremembered or mistakenly recalled as each other”, the IPO determined.
It added: “There is no likelihood of direct confusion between the marks.”
After finding that no likelihood of indirect confusion exists, either, the IPO also rejected easyGroup’s argument that use of the ‘Easy Pho’ trademark takes unfair advantage of the easyGroup marks.
After finding easyGroup’s application to invalidate the ‘Easy Pho’ trademark to be unsuccessful, the IPO ordered easyGroup to pay £700 ($928) towards its costs.
This is not the first time that the IPO has delivered bad news to easyGroup recently.
Earlier this month, the IPO turned down easyGroup’s application to register ‘easy’ as a trademark after an opposition from American restaurant chain Big Easy.
In May, easyGroup failed to stop a trademark featuring the words “Easy Nurse” being registered at the IPO after the IPO found that the trademark, which sought to cover breastfeeding products, would not cause confusion with easyGroup’s trademarks.
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
Lewis Hamilton escapes F1 safety patent suit
