• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]-patent.com
Contact form
Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

  • Deutsch

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • xing
  • Email
MENUMENU
  • Services
    • Advice On Protective IP Rights
    • Patent Application /TM Registration
    • Enforcement Of IP Rights
    • Defence Against IP Rights Enforcement
    • Costs
  • Company
    • Fields of Law
      • Patent Law
      • Utility Model Law
      • Employees‘ Inventions
      • Trademark Law
      • Design Law
      • Trademark and Product Piracy
      • Expert Opinions
    • Our Law Firm
      • Dr. Karl-Hermann Meyer-Dulheuer
      • Dr. Tim Meyer-Dulheuer
      • Dr. Klaus Zimmermann
      • Zhichao Ying
      • Dr. Christoph Hölscher
    • Commitment
  • Contact
    • Where To Find Us
    • Write us!
    • Request call back
  • Blog

Word and figurative mark – no national disclaimer

14. June 2019

National rules in trademark law which cover part of a compound trademark such as a word and figurative mark by means of a disclaimer are not permitted in proceedings for a likelihood of confusion. The ECJ ruled that an exclusive right to only one component of a composite mark cannot be asserted.

Trademark law in Sweden with option disclaimer

disclaimerIn a reference for a preliminary ruling from Sweden in case Hansson [Roslags Punsch/ROSLAGSÖL], the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on a nationally registered word and figurative mark. In accordance with the Swedish Trademark Act, the trade mark applicant had registered the contested mark with a disclaimer according to which “registration … does not confer an exclusive right to the word ‘Roslagspunsch'”.

Proceedings were instituted in respect of that trade mark application in respect of a trade mark ‘ROSLAGSÖL’, for which registration was subsequently sought and which was refused because of the likelihood of confusion caused by the dominant prefix ‘Roslags’. The term ‘Roslags’ also refers to a region in Sweden. The applicant for the trade mark ‘ROSLAGSÖL’ filed an appeal against the refusal to register the mark, claiming that the part of a mark which had been excluded from protection by a disclaimer should, in principle, be regarded as devoid of distinctive character.

Opposition to the overall view of a composite mark

The Swedish Court of Appeal therefore wondered whether a national rule permitting the inclusion of a disclaimer could be classified as a “procedural rule” even though it had the effect of altering the criteria on which the overall assessment was based.

No, said the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in its judgement. Article 4(1)(b) of Directive 2008/95/EC must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which provides for a disclaimer – where that disclaimer excludes an element of a composite mark from the overall assessment of the existence of a likelihood of confusion.

Protection of the combination of components as a whole

A finding that there is a likelihood of confusion leads only to the protection of a particular combination of elements without protecting a descriptive element belonging to that combination as such, the ECJ held, referring to the case-law. Consequently, the proprietor of a composite mark cannot invoke an exclusive right over only one element of that mark, whether or not that element is covered by a disclaimer provided for by national law.

Although, in the overall assessment of the likelihood of confusion within the meaning of Article 4(1)(b) of Directive 2008/95/EC, only weakly distinctive elements rarely support and create a likelihood of confusion, no element can be excluded from that overall assessment.

 

Would you also like to protect or to defend your trademark?

Our lawyers are experienced in trademark and patent law, national and international law.

 

Sources:

ECJ Judgement EU:C:2019:481

Image:

422737 /pixabay.com / CCO License  

  • share  
  • share 
  • share 
  • tweet 
  • share 

Category iconTrademark Law Tag iconECJ,  judgement,  likelihood of confusion,  disclaimer,  word and figurative mark,  composite mark,  Hansson [Roslags Punsch/ROSLAGSÖL];

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More articles about: Trademark Law

All articles

Blog Menu

  • Design Law
  • Healthcare & Lifesciences
  • International Intellectual Property
  • Licenses
  • News from our law firm
  • Overall
  • Patent Law
  • Product- and Trademark piracy
  • Trademark Law

Recent Posts

  • BPatG: Patent claim of cancer drug on active substance as salt 7. March 2022
  • Grant for European IP Protection: SME Fund 2022 4. March 2022
  • CODE-X vs. Cody’s: Likelihood of confusion in drinks? 25. February 2022
  • EOS lip balm no 3D trademark – appeal before ECJ not admissible 24. February 2022

Fields of Law

  • Patent Law
  • Utility Model Law
  • Employees’ Inventions
  • Trademark Law
  • Design Law
  • Trademark and Product Piracy
  • Expert Opinions
  • Costs

Das könnte Sie auch interessieren:

4. March 2022
Grant for European IP Protection: SME Fund 2022

Grant for European IP Protection: SME Fund 2022

25. February 2022
CODE-X vs. Cody’s: Likelihood of confusion in drinks?

CODE-X vs. Cody’s: Likelihood of confusion in drinks?

24. February 2022
EOS lip balm no 3D trademark – appeal before ECJ not admissible

EOS lip balm no 3D trademark – appeal before ECJ not admissible

21. February 2022
CFI: Pumpkin seed oil + PGI symbol

CFI: Pumpkin seed oil + PGI symbol

15. February 2022
SPOTIFY v POTIFY – a ‘pot’ app

SPOTIFY v POTIFY – a ‘pot’ app

10. February 2022
CFI: Shoes MADE IN ITALY

CFI: Shoes MADE IN ITALY

Contact us or request a call back

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]
Request a call back

Footer

Contact

Torhaus Westhafen
Speicherstrasse 59
D – 60327 Frankfurt am Main
Deutschland
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 199
[email protected]

Office Hours
Moday – Friday:   08:00-18:00

Fields of Law

  • Patent Law
  • Utility Model Law
  • Employees’ Inventions
  • Trademark Law
  • Design Law
  • Trademark and Product Piracy
  • Expert Opinions
  • Costs

Law Firm

  • Request non-binding call back
  • Company
  • Our Law Firm
  • ISO Certificate
  • Privacy Policy
  • Data handling for clients
  • Imprint

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • xing
  • Email

Newsletter Signup

© Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Meyer-Dulheuer MD Legal Patentanwälte PartG mbB

Contact Form

 

Give us a call, send us an email or fill out the contact form.

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]

Kontaktformular

 

Rufen Sie uns an, schicken Sie uns eine Mail oder füllen Sie das Kontaktformular aus.

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]