Ilovepdf, S.L. appealed against the Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office’s (SPTO) decision refusing the registration of trademark No. 4245914 – ILOVEPDF – in Class 9, on the grounds that it lacked distinctiveness as it constituted an advertising slogan.

The appellant argued that the contested decision was rife with subjectivity, as the conclusion that the trademark constituted an advertising slogan was reached through an artificial breakdown of its content. Furthermore, the appellant alleged that the principle of continuity and consistency in the register had been deliberately disregarded, as the trademark applied for was derived from earlier signs registered in Spain. Alternatively, ilovepdf sought recognition of the distinctiveness acquired through repeated use of the sign in the marketplace. In this regard, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) did not recognise this acquired distinctiveness.

In line with the criteria set out in the 17 January 2024 judgment of the General Court of the European Union (Case T-60/23 ILOVEPDF), the Provincial Court held that the ILOVEPDF trademark was not inherently distinctive. The terms ‘I’ and ‘love’ are familiar to Spanish consumers, even those who are not fluent in English. Therefore, the trademark in question would primarily be perceived as an advertising message promoting high-quality services.

In light of the above, the Provincial Court proceeded to examine whether the contested trademark had acquired distinctiveness through use. To solve this issue, the provisions of the aforementioned judgment of the General Court were re-examined; concluding that it had not been established that the sign had acquired distinctiveness throughout the European Union. However it was concluded that it had indeed acquired distinctiveness in Spain.

The evidence submitted by the appellant to demonstrate its acquired distinctiveness consisted of the following. Firstly, an affidavit from the managing director of ilovepdf was submitted, certifying that the company had 970,000 registered users, 355,000 daily users and processed 9,100,000 documents per month. This was accompanied by a market study indicating that, in Spain, the awareness of the trademark exceeds the European average in all respects. Furthermore, the pre-eminent position of the ILOVEPDF trademark in the rankings of the most visited websites reinforced the assessment of its distinctiveness and degree of market penetration.

In view of the foregoing, it was concluded that the ILOVEPDF trademark had acquired distinctiveness in Spain. Consequently, the appeal against the decision of the Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office (SPTO) was upheld, and the registration of the ILOVEPDF trade mark was ordered.

Judgment of the Provincial Court of Barcelona (Section 15) No. 682/2025 of 11 June 2026