Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Community trade mark - Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark - Signs capable of constituting a trade mark - Condition - Distinctive character - Assessment in relation to the products and services in respect of which registration is sought

(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 4)

2. Community trade mark - Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark - Absolute grounds for refusal - Signs devoid of any distinctive character - Companyline

(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(b))

Summary

1. It follows from Article 4 of Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark, according to which the decisive factor for a sign capable of being represented graphically to be eligible for registration as a Community trade mark is its capacity to distinguish the goods of one undertaking from those of another, that the distinctive character of a sign whose registration is sought can be assessed only in relation to the goods or services in respect of which application for registration of the sign is made.

( see paras 23-24 )

2. Under Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark, trade marks which are devoid of any distinctive character are not to be registered. As regards the application for registration of the word Companyline in respect of services relating to insurance and financial affairs, that sign cannot constitute a Community trade mark, since it is devoid of any distinctive character. Company and line are two generic words which simply denote a line of goods or services for undertakings. Coupling them together without any graphic or semantic modification does not imbue them with any additional characteristic such as to render the sign, taken as a whole, capable of distinguishing the applicant's services from those of other undertakings.

( see paras 26-27, 29 )