The Court of Justice of the European Union, on Thursday 5 March, gave a boost to Cypriot cheesemakers in their efforts to block a trademark because of its resemblance to the name of the HALLOUMI cheese. It set aside the previous judgment of the General Court according to which the collective mark HALLOUMI, reserved for Cypriot cheesemakers, does not preclude the sign ‘BBQLOUMI’ from being registered as an EU trade mark for cheese of a Bulgarian producer.
The case (C-766/18 P) is referred back to the General Court, which will have to examine whether there is a likelihood of confusion for consumers as regards the origin of the goods covered by the sign 'BBQLOUMI'.
The likelihood of confusion must be understood as being the risk that the public may believe that the goods or services covered by the earlier trade mark and those covered by the trade mark applied for all originate from members of the association which is the proprietor of that mark, according to the Court. (LC)