Granados 52 Inversiones S.L. applied to register the trademark WILD CARNAL STEAK HOUSE. But the company Pizza Market S.L., as the owner of the earlier trademark CARNAL, objected to the application, getting the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) to refuse the registration because there was a risk of confusion between the two trademarks.

Granados 52 filed a claim against this decision, arguing that there was no risk of confusion. Furthermore, while the claim was being processed, Granados 52 submitted a brief to the Provincial Court of Barcelona stating that it had requested the revocation of the opponent’s trademark due to lack of use. Therefore Granados 52 requested the suspension of the proceedings until a final decision was made in relation to the revocation application. However, the AP denied the suspension of the proceedings.

The SPTO upheld the revocation of the opponent’s trademark, and this decision was not appealed by Pizza Market. However, theProvincial Court considered that the proceedings should be conducted with regard to the situation existing at the time the complaint was filed, without introducing new facts. Therefore, the incompatibility between the two signs was upheld.

The Provincial Court’s decision was appealed by Granado 52 on the grounds that the previous decision had not taken into account the revocation of the opponent’s trademark, which extinguished its trademark rights.

In view of the above, the Spanish Supreme Court concluded that the opponent had suffered a supervening loss of the legitimate interest in obtaining legal protection and therefore, the revocation of the trademark was a circumstance to be taken into account. The opponent of the registration of the applicant’s trademark had lost its legitimate interest in said opposition since, as it was no longer the owner of a priority trademark, the obstacle for the registration of the requested trademark had disappeared.

For all these reasons, the appeal is upheld, the contested judgment is annulled, and the claim brought by Granados 52 against the SPTO decision to refuse registration is upheld.

Judgement of the Spanish Supreme Court 4130/2025 of September 24, 2025.