It’s a nice souvenir − but is it a trademark?

In many countries, summertime is time to get up and go to explore a fascinating foreign city or beautiful new landscape.

Holidays are the perfect opportunity to discover other cultures and broaden our horizons.

Many of us like to buy nice souvenirs to remind us of our holidays. Holiday souvenirs are a multi-billion dollar business: we are all familiar with fridge magnets, the endless array of tourist t-shirts and other popular knickknacks.

But is an attractive souvenir also a trademark, a distinctive mark that distinguishes that particular souvenir from all other souvenirs? The European Trademarks Office recently had to rule on this matter after an application was filed to register a biscuit box featuring a photograph of Cinque Terre (a popular tourist destination in Italy) as a three-dimensional trademark. Three-dimensional marks must be significantly different from products already available on the market.

The trademark authority rejected the application, stating that biscuit boxes come in all shapes and sizes, including biscuit boxes bearing pictures of landscapes. A consumer looking at this box is therefore likely to see it as a pretty box, not as a trademark.

In our opinion, the European Trademarks Office could have also said that consumers probably only bought the box because it was attractive. If attractiveness had been the primary reason for purchasing this product, this would have provided an additional legal ground for rejecting the application.

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.