26th Oct 2022
In a recent decision, the European Union’s General Court (GC) held that the EUIPO’s Board of Appeal (BoA) was correct to find that Louis Vuitton (LV) failed to demonstrate that its Damier Azur pattern had acquired distinctiveness through use in the European Union in relation to a variety of goods in class 18 (handbags, purses, wallets, luggage etc.).
24th Feb 2020
A recent decision of the General Court demonstrates that the distinctiveness of a trade mark must be assessed in relation to the specific goods or services for which registration is sought. Hästens Sängar AB (which does business simply as “Hastens”) is a Swedish manufacturer specialising in beds, bedlinen, pillows and accessories. Hasten’s products have long featured a blue and white check pattern, which was apparently created in 1978 by the father of the current owner and executive chairman of the company. This check pattern is used on Hastens’ beds, mattresses and bed linen, as well as on clothing and other accessories. Hastens has registered the check pattern in Sweden and has sought to protect it by various means in many other territories. On 21 December 2016 Hastens applied to register a copyright claim in the US in a repeating “two-dimensional graphic pattern consisting of white, dark blue, medium blue and light blue rectangles arranged in a check pattern”.