Brussels, 21/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 May, the General Court of the EU confirmed (case T-553/12) the 2012 decision of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) to reject an application to register the figurative sign “Bateaux-Mouches” as a community trademark. In so doing, it rejects the request for the annulment of this decision brought by Compagnie des bateaux mouches SA, which also made the registration application in 2007.
In its ruling, the General Court upholds OHIM's interpretation, which is that the sign “bateau-mouche” has no distinctive character and has not acquired any such character from use. Indeed, the General Court argues that the term “bateau mouche” is generic in nature, in that it is commonly used in the French language to refer to a type of vessel (a boat used for river passenger transport for tourists). Additionally, the General Court rules that the fact that the term “bateaux-mouches” was registered as a national trademark in France in 1950 is irrelevant, as the distinctive nature of a trademark must be appreciated at the time the request for registration was made (in this case, 2007). The judges argue that a sign which could be deemed a trademark at a certain period of time can lose that capacity, due to its use by others as the habitual name of a product or service. Furthermore, the company failed to demonstrate that the sign “bateau-mouche” had acquired a distinctive nature in the other French-speaking countries of the Union. In the circumstances, the General Court rejects the company's appeal. This ruling comes after the General Court, in 2008, and then the Court of Justice of the EU, in 2009, upheld OHIM's refusal to register “Bateaux-mouches” as a verbal community trademark. (FG)