There is no clear line between trade marks that are merely in poor taste (which is not a ground for refusal) and trade marks that are contrary to public policy or accepted principles of morality (prohibited from registration by virtue of Art 7(1)(f) EUTMR). The EU Intellectual Property Network recently published the CP14 Common Practice concerning this distinction. It has been developed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (‘EUIPO’) in collaboration with the trade mark offices of the EU Member States and user associations. These guidelines provide the common understanding of the concepts of public policy and accepted principles of morality as well as criteria for their assessment and illustrative examples. A decision that is worth including in this document is the recent General Court judgment on the refusal of the trade mark ‘Pablo Escobar’ … (more)
[Marcel Pemsel, The IPKat, 1 May 2024]
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