If asked to name an iconic building in Paris, no doubt the Eiffel Tower comes to mind. There’s no doubt that the Eiffel Tower is a landmark – but is it also a trademark? This question arose when the city of Paris filed an application for a logo in the European Union for use on printed matter, clothing and for events.

In our earlier blog we discussed the opposition between Maradona's former lawyer and a United Arab Emirates company. This company had filed a cartoonish image of Maradona in the European Union with his Italian nickname Dieguito above it. The opposition was based on the word mark MARADONA. It was interesting to hear how the European trademark office (EUIPO) would handle this opposition: is there use of MARADONA as a trademark, and if so, is only a conceptual similarity sufficient to assume confusion?

Studio Ghibli is often called the Japanese version of Disney. With exceptional craftsmanship, often still hand-drawn, animated films like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away have become globally recognized and widely acclaimed. Spirited Away even won an Oscar for best animation film. Just like Disney, Studio Ghibli has its own shops and merchandising, also in countries outside Japan.

Everyone knows the IKEA logo: an oval shape surrounding the letters "IKEA" and iconic blue and yellow colour scheme. In January 2024, a Chinese company from Shenzhen filed a trademark application for a logo that looked suspiciously similar to IKEA's. The only difference was that it featured the word ‘IKIKI’ rather than IKEA. Both words begin with IK, but the main similarity concerns the graphic elements, as anyone who sees the Chinese logo would automatically think of IKEA.

Lacoste is a good example of a strong brand in terms of both its name and its logo. Founded by the French tennis player René Lacoste, the fashion house has become famous over the years for its iconic polo sweaters and sportswear. With these kinds of brands, you can be almost certain that trademark rights are well protected.

Imagine, just a week after opening a fry shop with a catchy name, you are forced to change its name. This happened to Belgian couple Diony Bickx and Sheila Vergauwen, who playfully named their shop "Basic Frit," a nod to the well-known fitness chain "Basic Fit." The name was meant to create a fun association with pushing oneself to the limit, which one does both in sports and the couple does in their business.

You may be familiar with Hyundai as a car brand but did you know that there is also a Hyundai Technology, a Hyundai Motor Company and an HD Hyundai Co.? The first company is located in Puerto Rico, while the other two are South Korean. Hyundai Technology filed an opposition against an application for the wordmark ‘Hyundai’ for computer monitors and systems from the two South Korean companies on the grounds that its older European and German trademarks bear the same name. 

Can anyone realistically claim exclusive trademark rights to a golden champagne bottle? After all, gold is often used to enhance a product's upscale image. However, conflicts do arise from time to time, as we recently saw in an interesting case before the European Trademarks Office. The case concerned a shape mark consisting of a golden bottle from Sensi Vigne & ViniS.r.l., an Italian wine and champagne producer.

Some people wear Crocs as a fashion statement in the city, while others wear them strictly in the privacy of their garden and hide them behind the door the minute they go back inside. The Crocs shoes below aren’t everyone’s thing. However, we are talking about Crocs here − aren’t we? Sufang Yan, a Slovakian company, registered the shoes shown above as a European design in 2022.

T-Mobile has always been upfront about protecting its color trademarks. One of its trademarks specifies one specific magenta shade. The company acted quite fiercely against attempts to infringe on its color mark in the past, not only in Benelux countries but also in other countries.

'They say that Duvel is named after the Devil, but drink and you will see God'. Duvel is a strong, blonde Belgian beer with a firm head and a fresh citrus flavour. It is brewed by Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, a Belgian family brewery founded in 1871. Duvel has remained unchanged since 1923. The brewery has built a solid reputation and now exports its products to 72 countries.

The chocolate drink brand CHOCOMEL (in Belgium: Cécémel) is still largely popular in the Benelux countries. The CHOCOMEL products are available in the Benelux since 1932 and according to FrieslandCampina, the colour yellow (PMS 116U) has been consistently used on its products and in advertisements since.

Last year, the Crompouce® croissant made headlines in the Netherlands. This cross between a tompouce (a sort of Dutch mille-feuille) and a croissant was such a hit with consumers that many bakeries expanded their range to include the pink delicacy. Media interest intensified when it appeared that Crompouce® is actually a registered trademark that no one else is allowed to use.

Luxury brands rely upon exclusivity and a sense of superiority. Buyers of a luxury product invest not only in a product but also in the status and prestige associated with a particular brand. Obviously, image protection is of the utmost importance for luxury brands, prompting them to go to great lengths to defend their intellectual property rights. That is not all, however, as potential buyers must also comply with the brand’s rules of conduct.

Practically everyone has heard of Tarzan, the fictional hero who was raised by apes in Africa. A British company, JT Agro applied to use ‘Tarzan’ as a trademark for medical aids and nutritional supplements. Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., the company behind the writer of Tarzan, filed an opposition against this application. But, is Tarzan, a fictional character, a trademark?

The new branding of airline company Lufthansa meant a switch from the familiar yellow-blue to white-blue. This new corporate identity was not welcomed by everyone with enthusiasm. According to the Polish airline LOT there is a risk of confusion with its white-blue logo and aircraft tail. The European Trademarks Office disagreed and ruled that there is only a conceptual similarity, which is insufficient to assume likelihood of confusion. The opposition from the Polish airline was rejected. You can find more information about this in our earlier blog post: A Tale of Two Tails.

While EU trademark law lacks a precise definition of bad faith, recent case law from the European Court of Justice clarified the interpretation. Aiming for consistency across Europe, a new common approach for IP Offices of EU Member States is introduced to address bad faith in trademark applications: Convergence Program 13 or simply CP13.

There is a current trend towards granting legal personality to nature. The idea is that this makes it possible to grant nature rights that can be explicitly taken into account when decisions are being made, or even enforced on nature’s behalf. This is already happening in Spain, where the Mar Menor lagoon has acquired legal personality. In the Netherlands, a politician has started lobbying to grant rights to Limburg’s hilly landscape.