Creepy crawlies are contesting

In a recent opposition procedure, one spider has knocked another spider out of the register.

The logo of a Chinese clothing brand’s bears too much resemblance to the already existing active clothing brand, Spyder. Spyder Active Sports, Inc. secured the trademark in 2015, covering classes 14, 25, and 35. In this case, class 25—pertaining to clothing, footwear, and headwear—was the key discussion point, as the contesting party also attempted to register their spider trademark in this class.

The opposition was upheld on the fact that a likelihood of confusion exists: the public might believe that the goods and services presented by the Chinese brand come from the same, or an economically linked, undertaking as the established brand; Spyder.

In these kind of oppositions it always good to remember that the only fact that both logos are spiders is insufficient reason to deny registration. In other words, a conceptual similarity must also be backed up by a visual similarity. The EUIPO has formulated a sound reasoning for the similarities of the spiders in question:

 “Visually, the signs coincide in the figurative depiction of a spider. These depictions have some visual features in common. In particular, both are black and have similar sizes, silhouettes and proportions. The differences between the depictions are predominantly caused by the fact that the animal in the earlier mark looks more realistic, whereas in the contested sign it is more illustrational.”

Acknowledging that the visual design of the spider signs is, to some extent, distinct, the EUIPO concludes that the differences are not significant and memorable enough to outweigh the coincidences between the signs. After all, it is likely the differences will go over the heads of the general public, since we are, as the EUIPO puts it, “not specialists in the study of these animals and are, therefore, unfamiliar with the anatomy of spiders.”

Decisive in this instance, (and all other instances), is the overall impression conveyed by the signs. And yes, we can concur that the one black spider bears a striking resemblance to the other black spider. Hence, the final decision concluded that the contesting spider must exit the playing field.

Author: Arnaud Bos

Bio: Arnaud is trademark attorney and within Knijff responsible for the marketing & communication. Arnaud is specialist in the metaverse and music sectors and his client portfolio includes many upcoming and renowned bands. He keeps a close eye on the latest case law in the EU and will let you know when he sees remarkable applications.