Landmark Decisions from the CJEU as regards Letters, Numbers, Abbreviations and Acronyms as Trade Marks

The e-presentation deals with decisions of the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the extent to which signs like letters, numbers, abbreviations and acronyms can be registered as trade marks according to EU trade mark law. It highlights the general approach adopted by the General Court and the Court of Justice, raises open issues, and potential answers.

Prof Spyros Maniatis

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Question 1 of 3

Question 1: According to the CJEU, distinctiveness for marks consisting of a single letter:

cannot be assessed only by reference to the goods or services concerned and to the perception of the relevant public.

does not justify laying down specific criteria supplementing or derogating from the criterion of distinctiveness or lifting the obligation to assess distinctiveness by reference to concrete facts.

is conditional upon the sign applied for a specific level of creativity.

Question 2 of 3

Question 2: According to the jurisprudence of the CJEU:?

numbers can’t be per se precluded from being registered as a trade mark.

numbers must be precluded from being registered as a trade mark.

numbers must be regarded as non-distinctive signs.

Question 3 of 3

**Question 3: What is the parameter regarding of the application of Article 7 (1) b highlighted by the CJEU in case C-329/02 P SAT.2?**

Distinctive character should be seen in the light of the general interest.

For marks comprising a word and a digit, distinctiveness had to be assessed by examining the parts separately.

The juxtaposition of a word and a digit must be inventive to be registered as a trade mark.

Landmark Decisions from the CJEU as regards Letters, Numbers, Abbreviations and Acronyms as Trade Marks

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