EU collective mark is put to genuine use where it is used in accordance with its essential function
12-12-2019 Print this page
Trademark Law - The General Court has incorrectly assessed if a collective mark that has been registered in over 30 classes in order to enable the consumer to distinguish goods and packaging that are part of a specific recycling system from other goods and packaging: the essential function of an EU collective mark is to distinguish the goods or services of the members of the association which is the proprietor of the mark from those of other undertakings, an EU collective mark is put to genuine use where it is used in accordance with its essential function, which is to distinguish the goods or services of members of the association which is the proprietor of the mark from those of other undertakings, in order to create or preserve an outlet for those goods or services, to determine if a mark is put to genuine use, the examination should be carried out by evaluating particularly, whether such use is viewed as warrantetd in the economic sector concerned to maintain or create a share in the market for the goods or services protected by the mark, the nature of those goods or services, the characteristics of the market and the scale and frequency of use of the mark, the General Court should have assessed whether the use properly established in this case, namely the affixing of the mark at issue to the packaging of the goods of undertakings affiliated with the DGP sytem is viewed, in the economic sector concerned, as warranted to maintain or create a share in the market for the goods, for some categories of goods it cannot be ruled out that the indication, by a manufacturer or a distributor on the packaging of goods of that type, of the affiliation with a local collection system and of environmentally sound disposal of packaging waste may influence consumers' purchasing decisions and, thus, contribute to the maintenance or creation of a share in the market relating to those goods.
IPPT20191212, CJEU, Der Grune Punkt v EUIPO
