Posted On: November 17, 2009
European Dismissal: Court Rules That Exclamation Points Can't Be Registered
The European Court of First Instance has denied a German clothing and perfume retailer's bid to register an exclamation point as a trademark. Joop! applied for a trademark on an exclamation point logo, both in free form, and enclosed within a box.
A mark has to indicate the source of a good in order to qualify for registration as a trademark. The court said that an exclamation point alone isn't enough to show a link between a manufacturer and its product. In other words, consumers would not necessarily associate an exclamation point with Joop!
While decisions outside of the United States are not binding on us here, they may be helpful in interpreting our trademark statutes. I think that the analysis done by the EU court is analogous to what an American court would do. Intellectual property is a global field so it's important to stay on top of both domestic and international rulings!
Want to know if your mark is registrable? A thorough trademark attorney can let you know what the law allows!
A mark has to indicate the source of a good in order to qualify for registration as a trademark. The court said that an exclamation point alone isn't enough to show a link between a manufacturer and its product. In other words, consumers would not necessarily associate an exclamation point with Joop!
While decisions outside of the United States are not binding on us here, they may be helpful in interpreting our trademark statutes. I think that the analysis done by the EU court is analogous to what an American court would do. Intellectual property is a global field so it's important to stay on top of both domestic and international rulings!
Want to know if your mark is registrable? A thorough trademark attorney can let you know what the law allows!
