Tesco gives up on dashes trademark quest
UK supermarket group Tesco has given up on its attempt to trademark the blue dashes that form part of its logo.
The chain previously had its attempt to trademark the dashes, used under each letter of the store’s name, rejected by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) earlier this year.
Although it initially dismissed the rejection as “a preliminary stage of an ongoing process”, Tesco has now officially withdrawn the application.
In August this year, the IPO said it rejected the application on the grounds that the sign was too simple.
The IPO said that, although customers may associate the dashes with the supermarket, it was likely that they would need to see them underneath the word ‘Tesco’ to make the connection.
Hearing officer Edward Smith said the dashes were “entirely dependent” on the word ‘Tesco’ and represented punctuation, rather than a recognisable symbol.
Last month the supermarket group announced it was appealing against an IPO decision to deny it a trademark for the word ‘Clubcard’.
The Clubcard allows regular shoppers to collect points over time, which can then be used to convert into vouchers.
Tesco tried to register the name in January 2011, but its application was rejected in December last year after the IPO ruled it was "devoid of any distinctive character" and was "commonly used by third parties".
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk