ARE EUIPO’s BOARDS OF APPEAL GETTING IT RIGHT?

FORDHAM IP CONFERENCE31 MARCH & 1 APRIL 2016

ECLECTIC VIEWS FROM THE FRONT LINK:

GORDON HUMPHREYS CHAIRPERSON OF EUIPO FIFTH BOARD OF APPEAL

SHIFTING GOAL POSTSSLIDE NAME

‘Things Ain’t What They Used to Be’, Duke Ellington

CLASS HEADINGS :IP TRANSLATOR, C-307/10, 19.06.12

USE IN ONE MEMBER STATE :ONEL/OMEL, C-149/11, 19.12.12

NATIONAL JUDGMENTS :

PINK LADY, T-378/13, 25.03.15

SLIDE NAME

q WEAK MARKS AND COMPONENTS IN RELATIVE

GROUNDS

q LOOSE ENDS IN GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

q OVERLAPPING RIGHTS: Book titles and shape marks

q MINORITY LANGUAGES IN INTER PARTES CASES

q PUBLIC POLICY AND MORALITY

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

SLIDE NAME

No Likelihood of Confusion

Ø T-102/14, Deutsche Post & Post/TPC POST, 13.05.15

Ealier marks: PoST (acquired distintiveness) and Deutsche Post EUTMA: TPC POST [franking services]

Ø T-485/14, Bon Appétit!/Bon Apetí, 02.02.16

Earlier mark: EUTMA:

Ø C-182/14 P, MAGNEXT / MAGNET 4, 19.03.15

Earlier mark: MAGNET 4 EUTMA: MAGNEXT[Toys and playthings]

WEAK MARKS

SLIDE NAME

Ø T-387/13 & T-359/13, Colombiano Coffee House / Café de Colombia, 18.09.15

Ø T-659/14, PORT CHARLOTTE / PORT, 18.11.15 [whisky/port]

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

SLIDE NAME

Ø T-501/13, WINNETOU, 18.03.2016

Ø R-2401/2014-4, Le Journal d’Anne Frank, 31.08.15

Ø T-411/14, The Coca Cola Company v. OHIM, 24.02.16

BOOK TITLES, PERSONAL NAMES & SHAPE MARKS

SLIDE NAME

Ø C-147/14, Loufti Management v. Halalsupply NV., 25.06.15

Ø R-1325/2014-5, Genç Fenerbahçeliler Europe/Fenerbahçe, 15.05.15

Ø R-519/2015-4, Jewish Monkeys, 02.09.15

MINORITY LANGUAGES AND PUBLIC POLICY

SLIDE NAME

ØGC and BoAs ‘on the same page’ for weak marks

ØBoAs could do better on surveys

ØFurther refinement needed all round for GIs, booktitles, minority languages and public policy

CONCLUSIONS