08
March
2022
TAoMA Partners enters the international WTR 1000 ranking!
The entire TAoMA Partners team is very proud to be included in the 2022 WTR 1000 ranking, published by World Trademark Review!
“TAoMA Partners makes its maiden appearance in the WTR 1000 for 2022 thanks to effusive praise from clients – both for the firm as a whole and for its star practitioners.”
Indeed, if the firm is ranked among the best French firms, 3 of our partners are also distinguished as individuals:
Gaëlle Loinger-Benamran: “Gaëlle not only is perfectly aware of the law and its development, but knows how to adapt to any type of client, assessing the right level of risk they are willing to take. She has a problem-solving mindset and approach, is articulate, and takes the time to make sure everything is crystal clear for everyone.”
Anne Messas : “Anne provides sound legal advice and gets great results for her clients.”
Malaurie Pantalacci : “Malaurie is recommended for her professionalism, her ability to understand our issues and find solutions, and the clarity of her explanations and recommendations. She listens to our problems and works to understand our company.”
We would like to thank our clients and partners for their trust!
15
April
2021
TAoMA Partners ranked by the Legal500 EMEA 2021
The TAoMA Partners team is again distinguished by the Legal500 EMEA 2021 ranking among the best French Trademark Attorneys Firms.
We would like to thank our clients for their testimonials, which highlighted, among others, our “substantiated analysis and always relevant recommendations”, our “great listening skills and flexibility” or our “great availability”.
19
March
2021
LeadersLeague 2021 Ranking: TAoMA Partners once again distinguished
Once again this year, the TAoMA Partners team is honored in the LeadersLeague 2021 Ranking distinguishing the firm in 7 categories:
“Excellent”
Intellectual property – Brands, designs, and models – Intellectual property consulting – France
“Highly recommended”
Intellectual property – Brands, designs, and models – Law firm – France
Intellectual property – Management of trademark, design and model portfolios – Law firm – France
Media & entertainment – Press law –Law firm – France
“Recommended”
Marketing, communication & digital – Advertising law & marketing – Law firm – France
Media & entertainment – Film law – Law firm – France
Technologies, internet & telecommunications – Data protection law – Law firm – France
We would like to thank our clients and partners for their recommendations and trust.
27
November
2020
TAoMA Partners again distinguished in the LeadersLeague 2020 Ranking
The entire TAoMA Partners team is very proud to have been renewed in the LeadersLeague 2020 Ranking and to have been referenced in new categories:
“Excellent”
Intellectual property – Brands, designs, and models – Intellectual property consulting – France
“Highly recommended”
Intellectual property – Brands, designs, and models – Law firm – France
Intellectual property – Management of trademark, design and model portfolios – Law firm – France
Media & entertainment – Press law –Law firm – France
“Recommended”
Marketing, communication & digital – Advertising law & marketing – Law firm – France
Media & entertainment – Film law – Law firm – France
Technologies, internet & telecommunications – Data protection law – Law firm – France
We extend our deepest thanks to our clients for trusting and working closely with us.
05
August
2020
BREXIT and European intellectual property rights: United Kingdom is in transition until December 31, 2020, but what’s next?
The United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020. However, from an intellectual property point of view, the United Kingdom is still part of the European Union since a transition period has been put in place until December 31, 2020.
The TAoMA News team closely follows these changes and explains the impact of Brexit on your rights.
TRADEMARKS
First of all, if you were wondering whether your European Union trademarks are still valid in the United Kingdom, the answer is YES but only until December 31, 2020!
We explain hereafter the situation of European Union trademarks according to different scenarios.
1st situation: European Union trademarks registered until January 1st, 2021
No change to be expected until December 31, 2020, for:
The registered European Union trademarks;
The European Union trademarks currently under pending registration and the trademarks filed by the end of the transition period and which will be registered by December 31, 2020;
The European Union trademarks expiring before December 31, 2020, and duly renewed before that date (or within the grace period).
For all these trademarks, the UK Office will automatically create equivalent national trademarks on its register. These British equivalencies will be completely independent from the initial EU trademarks but will retain the corresponding filing and priority dates.
The good news is that no action and no cost should be incurred by trademarks owners.
The owners will not be notified by the UK Office and will not receive new registration certificate of their equivalence, but they will be able to access the details of their new trademarks on the UK Office website indicating the EU trademark number, preceded by the reference “UK009”.
Furthermore, these trademarks will have to be renewed before the UK Office when they expire as any national UK trademarks.
If an EU trademark owner does not want to obtain an equivalence, opt-out measures (renunciation to obtain an equivalence) will be possible as of January 1st, 2021, (the corresponding form which will be available on the website gov.uk should not be published before that date).
2nd situation: European Union trademarks in the process of being registered on January 1st, 2021
For the European Union trademarks filed before but not yet registered on January 1st, 2021, applicants will enjoy a period of 9 months (from that date, i.e. until October 1st, 2021) to request the maintenance of their rights in the United Kingdom and have their original European filing date retained.
However, contrary to the registered trademarks, trademarks under pending registration at the end of the period of transition:
Will only be transposed as national trademarks at the request of the owner within 9 months (otherwise, no equivalence will be created);
Will be examined by the UK Office as any new trademark application;
Will be subject to the payment of fees (in the order of £170 for 1 class and £50 for each additional class).
3rd situation: European Union trademarks expiring between January 1st and June 30, 2021
The equivalent trademarks transposed by the UK Office that expire between January 1st and June 30, 2021, will have to be renewed, as will the corresponding European trademark.
The UK Office will send, as far as possible, a reminder to the holder of the expiring equivalent trademark, inviting him to pay a renewal fee.
Given the circumstances, trademark owners will enjoy an additional period of 6 months from the receipt of the reminder from the UK Office to renew their trademarks in the United Kingdom (without surcharge).
Finally, the UK Office already specified that the early renewal of the European trademarks with the EUIPO before December 31, 2020, will not affect the equivalent British trademarks and will not exempt the owners from payment of the British renewal fees.
4th situation: International trademarks designating the European Union
Equivalent measures should be provided for international trademarks designating the European Union.
However, a particularity is to be expected since the British equivalence will be independent of the international trademark. The WIPO will soon provide us with details on the measures planned for these trademarks and the possible actions required by the owners concerned.
5th situation: What about the use and reputation of the European Union trademarks?
Finally, we close this paragraph on trademarks by specifying that the use and the reputation of the trademarks in the European Union, even outside the United Kingdom, in the 5 years preceding the end of the transition period, i.e. December 31, 2020, may be validly invoked in the United Kingdom.
DESIGNS
The same measures will be transposed to the designs, including unregistered Community designs for which a specific register will be created by the UK Office.
This measure is reassuring for the owners of such rights since, unlike conventional registered designs, an unregistered Community design confers a (more limited) protection for a non-renewable period of 3 years from the date of its first publication to the public on the territory of the European Union.
OTHER CONSEQUENCES
However, the Brexit could have a significant impact on contracts (coexistence agreements, engagement letters, licenses), on pending legal actions in United Kingdom as on the the date of January 1st 2021 based on an EU trademark or design, on opposition proceedings before the EUIPO on the basis of UK trademarks, or for .eu domain names registered on behalf of British owners, etc.
Consequently, we recommend you proceed with audits of your current portfolios, contracts and procedures in order to anticipate at best as possible the consequences of the effective exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
The entire TAoMA team is mobilized on these issues and remains at your disposal to support you during this transition period.
Marion Mercadier
Juriste
Laura Fretaud
Stagiaire juriste
06
May
2020
Trademarks: New actions available before the INPI since April 1st, 2020
Author:
teamtaomanews
Under the impulsion of the European Union’s (EU) legislation, French trademark law has recently undergone a fundamental change, aimed at harmonizing the different national legislations of the Member States. One of the main effects of the adoption of the government decree No. 2019-1169 of November 13, 2019 is that, since April 1st, 2020, cancellation proceedings of French trademarks or of French designations of International Registrations have been considerably simplified and made much cheaper.
These proceedings are invalidity actions based on relative grounds, including for violation of earlier rights (the owner of earlier rights considers being the first to “occupy the ground”), or on absolute grounds (the trademark is invalid per se because it is descriptive or contrary to the public order) and revocation actions, including when the owner does not genuinely use its trademark or when the latter has become a common name in the trade for a product or service for which it was registered (for example, the trademark “Escalator” for mechanical stairways):
Whereas before the reform judicial courts had exclusive jurisdiction over these actions resulting in the application of dispositions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the obligation to be represented by a lawyer, this competence is from now on shared with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI).
The purpose of this article is to present the new rules and the advantages of this reform.
1/ Where does it take place now, and what new can be done?
The reform transferred jurisdiction from the judicial courts to the INPI and the interest to act is not required anymore for some actions, thus increasing the possibilities of obtaining the removal of a trademark from the registers. At the same time, the reform provides new possibilities for the owner of the challenged trademark to defend itself against the applicant of the invalidity action.
New rules on jurisdiction: where to bring the action?
Revocation actions for non-use, which allow to obtain the cancellation from the registers of a trademark registered but not used by its owner, now have to be brought directly before the INPI, whereas previously the action could only be brought before one of the ten courts having jurisdiction corresponding to the domicile of the trademark owner.
The same applies to invalidity actions based on relative or absolute grounds.
The table below summarizes the new jurisdiction rules and those kept unchanged:
These new rules of jurisdiction may give rise to litigation strategies and choices of appropriateness: if the jurisdiction of judicial courts is sought, it may be obtained by adding in the writ of summons claims relating to infringement, or by adding to the basis of the earlier trademark an earlier copyright: in this case, the court’s jurisdiction wins over the INPI’s jurisdiction.
Conversely, to save money, a party could, if it considers that it is in its interest, waive its infringement claims and simply request the cancellation of a trademark directly before the INPI, thus saving itself procedural costs that are higher before judicial courts.
New rules on interest to act: who can bring proceedings?
Litigation strategies will also be influenced by the fact that principal claims for revocation, passing from the judicial courts to the INPI, are no longer subject to an interest to act. The applicant who wants to obtain the revocation of a trademark that it considers not used by its owner will no longer have to prove, for instance, that it has an earlier right to an identical or similar sign and for identical or similar goods to those for which it is seeking revocation.
With the exception of actions based on absolute grounds and actions for revocation, all other actions and claims, whether brought before the INPI or before a judge, involve the demonstration of an interest in bringing proceedings, including the counterclaim for revocation, i.e. the reply made by a defendant to the owner of a trademark who acts in infringement proceedings before a court:
In other words, a party wishing to obtain the cancellation of a trademark will now be able to apply for it before the INPI without being the owner of any earlier right and will be able to target the total cancellation of the trademark even when it owns an earlier mark for only a few goods or services also designated by the contested trademark.
Defenses: what can the owner of the challenged trademark do?
In defense, the owner of the contested trademark may raise several defenses:
It may first challenge the applicant’s interest to act, when such interest is required.
It may then raise the time-limitation (but only if an earlier well-known trademark is invoked) or the foreclosure by acquiescence for invalidity actions based on earlier rights.
It may also request that the action be declared inadmissible:
If the earlier trademark lacked distinctiveness at the date to which the challenged trademark was applied-for, even if distinctiveness was acquired afterwards;
In the absence of notoriety of the earlier trademark at the date to which the challenged trademark was applied-for, when the basis invoked is a well-known trademark, even if the notoriety was acquired afterwards.
Such inadmissibility is not automatic but must be raised in defense by the owner of the contested trademark.
Last but not least, the defendant may require the applicant for a declaration of invalidity of a trademark based on relative grounds to prove that its earlier trademark has been genuinely used during the five years preceding the application for a declaration of invalidity. Furthermore, if the earlier trademark has been registered for more than five years prior to the filing or priority date of the challenged trademark, it shall also be required to furnish proof of use of that earlier mark in the five years preceding the filing or priority date of the contested trademark.
In such a case then, the applicant may be compelled to prove use of its earlier trademark during two different, sometimes overlapping or merging, reference periods.
For instance, if the owner of a trademark registered in 2002 applies on May 15, 2020 for the invalidity of a trademark filed on June 15, 2012, the owner of the earlier trademark will have to prove, upon request of the defendant, the genuine use of its trademark between May 15, 2015 and May 15, 2020, and between June 15, 2007 and June 15, 2012. If the earlier trademark was filed much earlier than the subsequent trademark, the period for which use must be proven is reduced accordingly.
In the case of a subsequent trademark filed on April 15, 2019 and an application for a declaration of invalidity filed on May 15, 2020, the periods overlap since the first is between May 15, 2015 and May 15, 2020 and the latter between April 15, 2014 and April 15, 2019. This results, in practice, in a “continuous period” between April 15, 2014 and May 15, 2020:
All of these defenses will be addressed by the INPI in its final decision.
2/ How does it work and for how long can these proceedings last?
The procedural rules governing new actions brought before the INPI are not the same as the ones applicable before the judicial courts. They should allow a faster treatment of the proceedings.
Introduction of the action
Invalidity or revocation action before the INPI are initiated by the filing of an online form identifying:
The challenged trademark,
The earlier rights claimed, in case of an application for a declaration of invalidity based on relative grounds,
The identity of the applicant,
And the scope of the requested cancellation (all goods and services or only some of them).
The applicant must also attach proof of payment of the official fee of 600 euros (this amount does not include the attorney’s fees) to which may be added 150 euros for each additional prior right invoked in an invalidity action based on relative grounds. No new right may be invoked after the action has been filed, it is therefore necessary to think carefully from the outset about all the rights that may be invoked. However, it is possible to withdraw some of these rights as well as some of the goods and services covered by the application for cancellation, throughout the proceedings.
In any case, apart from the revocation action for non-use, for which it is not mandatory, the applicant shall also attach observations setting out the grounds for cancellation of all or part of the trademark (specifying, for instance, how the earlier trademark is similar or identical, as regards its sign and its goods and services, to the subsequent trademark).
Finally, the action before the INPI can only be either an invalidity action or a revocation action. It is impossible to cumulate the grounds within a single action, whereas it was possible until recently before the judicial courts, with litigants requesting invalidity based on earlier rights and revocation for non-use, for example, and not necessarily one in the alternative to the other, without this constituting a cause of inadmissibility.
Therefore, this change encourages applicants to better define their strategies upstream, even if the reform does not prevent them from bringing two parallel actions on two different grounds, which is even more encouraged by the fact that the cost of these actions is very limited.
Conduct of the proceedings – adversarial phase
Once the application has been filed, the INPI has one month to examine the admissibility of the action and to notify the owner of the challenged trademark, which triggers a series of time limits: a first two-month deadline for the owner to submit its first observations in reply, followed by several one-month time periods allowing the parties to exchange written observations and supporting documents, if they wish to: two sets of observations for the applicant and three for the owner; with the last observations not being able to raise any new ground or attach any new proof of use.
If one of the parties decides not or no longer to make use of its right to submit observations, the adversarial phase can be concluded quickly – with the proviso that the owner of a trademark for which revocation for non-use is sought will still be allowed to submit two sets of observations and proofs of use, even in the absence of a response from the applicant.
At any time, each of the parties, or the INPI itself, may request an oral hearing, which will take place at the end of the adversarial phase.
Finally, the parties may suspend the proceedings at any time, by mutual agreement, for three time periods of four months.
Decision and appeal
The INPI has three months to render its decision following the end of the adversarial phase. In case the INPI does not meet the deadline, the action is deemed rejected.
The proceedings before the INPI can then theoretically last between six months and a year, if no suspension is requested.
The decision may charge the losing party with part or all the costs of the proceedings, at the request of the winning party, but only if the action is totally won or lost: the costs are at each party’s expense if, for example, the decision cancels only part of the goods and services targeted by the applicant.
If no appeal is filed, the decision rendered by the INPI is enforceable. If the trademark is cancelled because of the applicant’s prior right, the cancellation is retroactive and takes effect on the date of filing of the cancelled mark: it shall be deemed to have never existed.
Retroactive cancellation has an effect on third parties (an “erga omnes” effect): for example, if an infringement action was initiated earlier by the owner of the cancelled trademark against a third party, this action may become moot.
On the contrary, the revocation shall take effect on the date of the application for revocation or, at the request of the applicant, on the date on which the ground for revocation arose.
Appeal phase
Once the decision has been rendered, the parties have one month (excluding extended deadlines for DROM-COMs and for foreign residents) to bring an appeal before the one of the ten specialized courts of appeal that is territorially competent, that is to say the one of the domicile of the party bringing the appeal (or before the Paris court of appeal for the appellants residing abroad). Legal representation is mandatory.
Unlike appeals against decisions in opposition proceedings, appeals against decisions in cancellation proceedings are de novo: the parties can provide new supporting documents (including proofs of use) and raise new grounds.
The appeal proceeding in itself follows the usual time limits, and it should be possible to reach a final decision approximately one year after the case has been referred to the court. The appeal proceeding will therefore take longer than the procedure before the INPI.
A writ of certiorari against the appeal decision can of course be filed before the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation), even by the INPI.
Instead of appealing the decision, is it possible to re-file the same claims before the INPI?
In the event that a trademark has been validated following a cancellation action, this trademark does not, for all that, become indisputable.
The rule is as follows: when a cancellation action is brought 1° between the same parties having the same quality, 2° with the same object and cause of action and 3° when a final decision has already been rendered either by the INPI or by a judicial court, then the action is inadmissible (“res judicata” principle).
In contrast to this rule, it therefore seems theoretically possible, after a final decision validating a trademark of which invalidity was sought on the basis of an earlier trademark, to bring a new invalidity action on the basis of another right, for example, a domain name, or to bring a revocation action for non-use or loss of distinctiveness.
Similarly, a revocation action which has given rise to a decision to maintain the contested trademark does not preclude the bringing of a new revocation action at a later date, since the reference period during which the owner must have used the mark will not be the same and it remains possible to revoke the rights of an owner that has, in the past, used its mark but is no longer using it.
Many other complex situations may arise and create difficulties in the context of these new actions.
To summarize, here are the advantages of these new actions, available since April 1st, 2020:
The cost for the filing of an invalidity or revocation action is only 600 euros, excluding attorneys’ fees and, in the case of a revocation action, it is not even compulsory to submit observations in reply, which further reduces the procedural costs;
The invalidity action, even on relative grounds, has become imprescriptible since the enactment of the PACTE law (unless the owner of the subsequent trademark can prove that the applicant has tolerated its use in good faith for five years);
The revocation action and the invalidity action based on absolute grounds may be brought before the INPI by anyone, even without an interest to act;
Invalidity actions brought before the INPI are handled within a relatively short period of time, allowing applicants to obtain a decision much more quickly than before the courts;
The invalidity action based on prior rights may be seen as a second chance for earlier owners who would not have initiated opposition proceedings, since the costs and modalities of both procedures are now very similar.
TAoMA Partners, Attorneys-at-law and Intellectual Property Attorneys, is at your disposal should you wish to find out more or take advantage of these new opportunities.
Malaurie Pantalacci
Trademark and Design Attorney, Partner
Jérémie Leroy-Ringuet
Attorney-at-law
Special thanks to Blandine Lemoine, Lawyer, and to Jean-Charles Nicollet, Trademark and Design Attorney, Head of the Trademark and Design Legal Department, for their assistance in the preparation of this article.
06
May
2020
Major changes in the French Trademark Prosecution
Author:
teamtaomanews
The long-awaited upheaval in French trademark law is finally here!
Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trademarks has been transposed in France, at last, following the adoption of an order dated November 14, 2019.
This transposition entails a major overhaul of French trademark law and practice in certain aspects and notably regarding the application and renewal of trademarks.
=> The end of the requirement of graphical representation
Until now, to be eligible to a protection under trademark law, a sign needed to be capable of being represented graphically. Such condition has been abandoned by the new regulation. This abonnement does not necessarily open protection to non-traditional trademarks that were previously refused, such as olfactive or gustative marks, as the legislation still requires the sign applied for to be represented on the Register in a manner which enables anyone to determine precisely and clearly the subject matter of the protection afforded to its proprietor.
Yet, some non-conventional trademarks that were rarely accepted in the past will likely be adopted more easily now, as new formats of representation will become available. For instance, with respect to sound trademarks, it will now be possible to submit audio files, while for the representation of motion trademarks or hologram trademarks, the applicant will be able to furnish video files, gifs, etc.
If opening the trademark filing to new representation formats seems to be good news for future applicants, this will necessarily generate practical issues, in particular in the context of litigation. From now on, how should be compared a traditional verbal mark and a sound mark represented by an audio file? In this specific case, what will become of the visual comparison?
This new disposition will, no doubt, change significantly the office’s practice, which would have to get creative in developing new reasonings.
=> New official taxes
While the old system provided for a single flat fee for the filing of a trademark from one up to three classes, with an additional class fee from the third class onwards, the reform abandoned it in favor of a system of one fee per class.
The same system has been adopted for the renewal of trademarks.
=> Examination
The new disposition broadens the list of grounds for refusal, especially, the number of signs that can constitute opposable prior rights to the filing of a new trademark application. This will make it even more necessary to carry out prior right searches before considering filing any trademark application, as the sign for which registrations will be sought is likely to face more types of obstacles.
Now the following applications can be refused by the French Office:
Signs consisting exclusively of “the shape or other characteristic of the product imposed by the nature of the product itself, necessary to obtain a technical result or which confers substantial value on the product”. The reference to “another characteristic of the product” is new and broadens the ground for refusal specific to shape marks, which can now be applied more broadly and to all marks, and in particular to atypical marks whose filing is facilitated.
A trademark including “appellations of origin and geographical indications, traditional wine names and guaranteed traditional specialities” protected by national or European Union legislation or by international agreements.
A trademark consisting of the name of an earlier plant variety.
A trademark that has been filed in bad faith by the applicant.
The new provision also makes the lack of distinctiveness a proper and independent ground for refusal when, in the past, it was closely link to the condition of non-descriptiveness. Distinctiveness and non-descriptiveness are now two different conditions that a mark should comply with in order to be registered.
=> A new deadline for the renewal of trademark registrations
If, in the past, a trademark could be renewed up to the last day of the expiration month, the renewal would have to be filed, from now on, before the end of the expiration date. An additional period of six months is still allowed to proceed with such a renewal, subject to the payment of an additional fee. The starting point of this 6-month grace period is no longer the day after the expiration month but the day that follows the expiration date.
Our team is at your disposal to assist you and help you to better understand all the workings of this reform.
Blandine Lemoine
Lawyer
Jean-Charles Nicollet
European Trademark & Design Attorney
Head of Legal Department
28
April
2020
Pacte Law: The trademark opposition procedure new generation
Author:
teamtaomanews
We have been waiting for it for several years and France has finally transposed the European Directive 2015/2436 of 16 December 2015, approximating the laws of the Member States on trademarks by the Pacte Law.
One of the major changes in French law concerns the reform of the opposition procedure before the INPI against a trademark application infringing the prior rights of a third party. This new-generation opposition applies only to French trademarks, or international trademarks designating France, filed on or after December 11, 2019. For trademarks filed before this date, the old procedure remains applicable.
We therefore offer you a comparison between the new and the old opposition proceedings.
Grounds for opposition
The old opposition was characterized by the obligation to invoke only one prior right per procedure. Thus, if a holder wished to base his opposition on two trademarks, he had no choice but to file two oppositions.
The new procedure makes it possible to invoke several earlier rights in the same opposition. Similarly, the earlier rights that can be used to support the opposition procedure have been extended.
The official tax has changed and is now of €400 for the fist prior right invoked and of €150 for any additional rights invoked.
Course of the procedure
If the deadline to file an opposition is still of two months from the publication of the contested trademark, it is now possible to file a formal opposition. The brief setting out the arguments in support of the action must be submitted within 1 month of the expiry of the opposition period.
The adversarial principle has also been strengthened since the parties can exchange several sets of written submissions in order to make their case. In return, the opposition procedure is lengthened and can last up to 10 months before the final decision is taken, as opposed to a maximum of 6 months under the old procedure.
As part of his defense, the applicant of the contested mark may require the opponent to provide proof of genuine use of the earlier marks invoked which have been registered for more than 5 years. Such a possibility was already available in the old opposition proceedings.
However, the INPI now has the power to exercise a thorough control of the evidence to be provided by the opponent. It will therefore be necessary for the latter to be in a position, prior to the initiation of opposition proceedings on the basis of a trademark registered for more than 5 years, to provide proof of genuine use of the trademark for all the goods and/or services invoked in the context of the proceedings.
The new generation opposition procedure is therefore a major step forward for holders of prior rights by providing them with a broader basis for action and a strengthened adversarial principle. The other side of the coin is the need to demonstrate the genuine use of its trademarks registered for more than 5 years, at the request of the defendant, for all the goods and/or services invoked in support of the opposition.
Jean-Charles Nicollet
European Trademark and Design Attorney
Head of Legal Department
14
April
2020
A new chance for the European Union trademark application “FACK JU GÖTHE”
The word mark “FACK JU GÖTHE” can be registered as a European Union trademark, decided the Court of Justice of the European Union in a decision dated February 27, 2020. This decision overrules the European Union intellectual property office (EUIPO) decision, confirmed by the General Court, that this applied-for mark was contrary to the Article 7, (1), (f), of Regulation No.207/2009 [1], namely, contrary to principles of morality which.
As we have seen in our previous news concerning the opinion of the Advocate General Bobek (read our TAoMA News of July 18, 2019 in French), the company Constantin Film Produktion Gmbh, filed in 2015 the European Union Trademark Application “FACK JU GÖTHE” before the EUIPO. If this sign is intended to designate various goods or services of daily life, it is also the title of a German comedy movie which enjoyed great success in German-speaking countries and had several sequels.
The EUIPO, approved by the General Court, refused registration of this word sign on the ground that the first words “FACK JU” were phonetically identical to the English insult “FUCK YOU” and that the sign taken as a whole was therefore an expression of bad taste, offensive and vulgar, by which the writer Johann Wolfgang Goethe was posthumously insulted [2], and this, notwithstanding the applicant’s arguments as to the context surrounding the release of the film bearing the same name.
Constantin Film Produktion GmbH then brought an appeal before the Court of Justice against the latter decision, alleging, inter alia, errors in the interpretation and application of Article 7(1)(f) of Regulation No 207/2009, which excludes from registration trademarks “contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality”.
Following the reasoning of Advocate General Bobek, the Court, in its decision of 27 February 2020, annuls the decisions of the General Court and the EUIPO.
According to the Court, the EUIPO and the General Court disregarded the standards required by Article 7(1)(f) of Regulation No 207/2009, in the light of which it is necessary to carry out an analysis of all the elements specific to the case in order to determine precisely how the relevant public would perceive the sign in question.
Indeed, the EUIPO, as well as the General Court, relied solely on an abstract assessment of that mark and of the English expression to which the first part is assimilated. But the Court considers that they should have examined more carefully the social context and the factual elements invoked by the applicant and should have explained more conclusively the reasons why these elements had been left out of its analysis.
Among these factual elements, there was more than convincing evidence: in particular, the great success of the comedy movie of the same name and the fact that its title does not appear to have caused controversy among the German-speaking public. In addition, the young audience had been allowed to see the film when it was released and was the primary target. Finally, the Goethe Institute, which is a reference in the promotion of the German language on a national and worldwide level, used it for educational purposes.
Furthermore, the Court underlines the fact that the perception of the English expression “FUCK YOU” by the German-speaking public is not necessarily the same as its perception by the English-speaking public. While it is true that this expression is well known to the non-English-speaking public, its semantic content may be slightly different or even diminished in a foreign language. It is especially true in the present case because the first part of the trademark application at issue does not consist of the English expression as such, but of its phonetic transcription in German, accompanied by the element “Göthe”.
In the light of all these factors, the Court considers that the EUIPO and the General Court misinterpreted and misapplied Article 7(1)(f) of Regulation No. 207/2009 and, accordingly, cancels the corresponding decisions.
Finally, as we indicated in our previous TAoMA News, Constantin Film Produktion GmbH also invoked freedom of expression as an element to be taken into account in the assessment of Article 7(1)(f) of Regulation No. 207/2009. While the Court is less affirmative than its U.S. counterpart (the U.S. Supreme Court has recently ruled that the US Trademark Act on immoral, misleading or scandalous trademark is contrary to the freedom of expression guaranteed by the US Constitution, see our TAoMA News of July 4, 2019 in French), it acknowledges, for the first time to our knowledge, that freedom of expression must be taken into account when applying this provision of trademark law in order to ensure respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, in particular in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [3].
The future of the trademark “FACK JU GÖTHE” is now in the hands of the EUIPO which will, for the second time, have to proceed with its examination. Full of learnings, the decision of the Court should probably influence the latter and lead to the registration as a trademark.
Baptiste Kuentzmann
Lawyer
Read the decision on CURIA.
[1] Article 7 (1)(f) Regulation (EU) 207/2009: “1. The following shall not be registered: (…) f) trademarks which are contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality”. Applicable provision in this case, now replaced by Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 ;
[2] EGC, January 24, 2018, T-69/17, Constantin Film Produktion/EUIPO (Fack Ju Göthe) ; Fifth Board of Appeal of the EUIPO, December 1, 2016, R 2205/2015-5, (Fack Ju Göthe) ;
[3] Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: “1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”
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