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DeutschPersimon and the Limits of Distinctiveness: Recent Jurisprudence During Kaki Season
In 2017, the company Fresh Direct Spain S.L. launched an advertising campaign in Valencia to promote its khakis under the trademark KAKIESTRELLA (figurative). This advertising campaign consisted of posters on street furniture featuring images of several khakis and a smiling child holding a khaki, accompanied by the phrase ‘New persimmon khaki ready to eat’. Likewise, the khakis supplied by this company were sold in the Corte Inglés supermarket with a label identifying them as ‘Khakis Persimon…
I (love) – lack of distinctiveness - position marks
In May 2022, an EUTM application was filed regarding a position mark consisting of the letter “I” followed by the illustration of a red heart, located on the left side of a piece of clothing. The mark was filed for goods in class 25 in relation to clothing, particularly t-shirts, sweaters and sweatshirts. However, the application was rejected by the examiner, and subsequently by the Board of Appeal, on the grounds that the characterization of the sign applied for as a positional mark did not…
Cristina Hernández Martí Pérez Appointed Vice President of AIJEC
We are pleased to share some exciting news: our managing partner, Cristina Hernández Martí Pérez, has been appointed Vice President of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Catalonia (AIJEC). The new board of directors, led by Vicenç Del Mar Mullor, elected during the recent General Assembly, marks the beginning of a renewed phase that aims to make AIJEC more open, digital, intergenerational, and aligned with the realities of today’s young business leaders. Cristina takes on this new role…
The trademark “T Torre Village” annulled due to likelihood of confusion with well-known “VILLAGE” marks.
Value Retail Barcelona S.L. and Value Retail Madrid S.L. brought an action before the Trademark Court of the European Union against the entities Iberebro S.A. and Impacta Publicidad y Comunicaciones S.L. The claim sought the invalidity of the trademark ‘T Torre Village’ and the signs Torre Village designating management and operation services of shopping centres (class 35), on the grounds that it infringed the exclusive rights held by the plaintiffs in relation to the shopping centres La Roca…
Extending the reputation of physical goods to virtual products
In July 2021, an EU trade mark application was filed for the figurative sign ‘Glashütte Original’ covering goods and services in classes 9, 35 and 41, regarding virtual watches. However, the application was rejected, on the basis of Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation 2017/1001. The examiner, and subsequently the EUIPO’s Board of Appeal, considered that the mark applied for was devoid of any distinctive character, as it would evoke, in a significant part of German consumers, the reputation of the…
HERNÁNDEZ MARTÍ ABOGADOS at MARQUES 39th Annual Conference – The Hague 2025
We are pleased to announce that HERNÁNDEZ MARTÍ ABOGADOS will attend the MARQUES 39th Annual Conference, taking place in The Hague from Tuesday 16th to Friday 19th September 2025. This year’s conference will focus on brand changes in an international context, with sessions addressing the impact of external factors on IP work, brands in international trade and M&A, the rise of sustainability, international jurisdiction in trademark litigation, brand revivals, and the latest case law from…
OECD–EUIPO Report Reveals Alarming Trends in Global Trade of Counterfeit Goods
We are pleased to share the release of the latest joint publication by the OECD and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO): Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025: Global Trends and Enforcement Challenges. This comprehensive report, published under the OECD’s Illicit Trade series, provides an updated and data-driven analysis of the global trade in counterfeit goods, based on the most recent customs seizure data from 2020 and 2021. It highlights the growing complexity and scale of…
Proof of acquired distinctiveness
On May 4, 2023, the company Amazonen -Werke H. Dreyer SE & CO. KG sought the annulment of the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the EUIPO refusing the registration of international trademark No. 1461516, consisting of the combination of the colors green and orange, due to a lack of inherent distinctiveness. The mark applied for designated goods in class 7, corresponding to the following description: ‘Agricultural machines and implements, namely field sprayers. The…
The lack of individual character of the designs – Crocs Case
The company Crocs, Inc. is the holder of a registered Community design (hereinafter RCD) regarding a footwear design, which was registered on 22 November 2004. On 24 October 2022, Gor Factory, S.A. filed an application for a declaration of invalidity against the contested RCD claiming that it lacks novelty and individual character, as the RCD merely consisted in a representation of clogs. In addition the invalidity applicant submitted excerpts from the Internet Archive of a website from 2003…
Lack of International Jurisdiction of Spanish Courts in a Case Involving the Copying of a Streetlamp in Doha (LATINA Case) - Copyright
The plaintiff in these proceedings is an architect who has developed several urban and architectural projects. The plaintiff has maintained a contractual relationship with the group Santa & Cole Ediciones de Diseños S.A. to which she assigned the patrimonial rights of the design of a lamp called LATINA with the purpose of commercializing it. Currently, the lamppost is installed in several cities around the world. On the other hand, Ashghal is a state-owned commercial entity that channels…