Meeting The Objections In EU And UK Trade Mark Law

Meeting The Objections In EU And UK Trade Mark Law To Article 7(1)(A) And (B) Presented by: Mr. Hobbs Date: 7th November 2024 At the threshold: AD2000 TM [1997] ETMR 253 - para. (a) objection: the sign is not "capable of distinguishing” - para. (b) objection: the trade mark is "devoid of any distinctive character" Going into and coming out of Case C-299/99 Philips v Remington EU:C:2002:377 paras. [29] to [46] - consistent implementation of paras. (a) and (b): • a sign which is not in fact "capable of distinguishing” is "devoid of any distinctive character" for the purposes of para. (b) • a sign which is not in fact "devoid of any distinctive character" is "capable of distinguishing" for the purposes of para. (a) Stricter and stronger exclusion of "origin neutral" signs under para. (a)? - Case T-124/20 M/S Indeutsch International v EUIPO EU:T:2021:668 at paras. [46] to [48] - Case T-487/21 Neoperl AG v EUIPO EU:T:2022:780 at paras. [34] to [38] - Case C-93/23P EUIPO v Neoperl AG EU:C:2024:751 at paras. [77] to [87] (A-G Pikamae) Clarity and precision: Case C-307/10 CIPA v Registrar of Trade Marks (IP TRANSLATOR) - to counteract Communication No. 4/03 of 16 June 2003 (use of class headings) Arts 4(1) and 220 to 222 of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - s.30 European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 cross relates to Art. 4 TCA - s.29(1) of the Act cross relates to Arts 220 to 222 TCA - "Applying section 29 to domestic law on a particular issue now means what the TCA says it means, regardless of the language used": Lipton v BA Cityflier Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 454 at [78] per Green LJ - Not so fast: courts and tribunals "should not have regard to what has been said by the Court of Appeal in this case" in relation to the operation and effect of s.29: Lipton v BA Cityflier Ltd [2024] UKSC 24 at [80]