Date post: | 27-Jan-2015 |
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NON CONVENTIONAL TRADEMARKS
Generally, the term “nontraditional marks” covers marks,
other than word, figurative or complex marks, that are used to
identify products or services. Following are examples of
nontraditional marks:
Colour
Motion
Shape
Sound
Scent
Taste
Touch
Visible signs Non-visible signs
sound (audio)
smell (olfactory)
words, letters, numerals
drawings, colors
Hologram
Motion
shape
Core requirements
procedural:graphical representation(register transparency)
substantial: distinctive characterNon functional
Graphical Representation• Graphical representation of the sign must be such
representation of the mark that it can define the mark itself in order to determine the precise subject of the protection afforded by the registered mark to its proprietor.
• Next, the entry of the mark in a public register has the aim of making it accessible to the competent authorities and the public, particularly to economic operators.
• object of the representation is specifically to avoid any element of subjectivity in the process of identifying and perceiving the sign. Consequently, the means of graphic representation must be unequivocal and objective
that Article 2 of the Directive must be interpreted as meaning that a trade markmay consist of a sign which is not in itself capable of being perceived visually,provided that it can be represented graphically, particularly by means of images,lines or characters, and that the representation is
clear precise
self-contained,easily accessible,
intelligible durable
objective.
COLOUR MARKS
10/04/2023 8
PROBLEMS IF SINGLE COLOURS ARE REGISTERED
SHADE CONFUSION
COLOUR DEPLETION
ANTI DISSECTION
Single Colors — EULibertel Groep BV v. Benelux-Merkenbureau (Case C-104/01 (ECJ
May 6, 2003)):
•Application to register the color orange.
•The Court held that single colors marks are capable of constituting a sign and are eligible for trademark protection if they can distinguish goods of one undertaking from those of another and can be defined in a sufficiently clear way.
• To be acceptable graphic representation of the color must be “clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective” (these are known as the Sieckmann criteria). This condition may be satisfied “by designating that colour using an internationally recognized identification code,” such as Pantone is a precise and stable form of verbal description.
f• While considering the registration of colour per se as trademark private interest of a single trader has to be weighed against the public interest of not unduly restricting the availability of colours of all traders.
• Distinctiveness without prior use is unlikely to be present in a colour per se mark other than in exceptional circumstances. However acquired distinctiveness may be present.
• The examination of a EU national trademark application should be stringent to prevent trademarks from being improperly registered.
Heidelberger Bauchemie GmbH (Case C-49/02 (ECJ June 24, 2004)):
•The application was for registration of a trademark, the representation of which consisted of a piece of paper the upper part of which was blue and the lower part yellow. The following description accompanied the application: “The trade mark applied for consists of the applicant’s corporate colours which are used in every conceivable form, in particular on packaging and labels.” The application listed the colors under the Pantone® system.
• In order to fulfill its role as a registered trademark, trademark must be perceived precisely and unambiguously so that the function of the mark as an indicator of the origin is guaranteed.
•Applications for color combination marks must include “a systematic arrangement associating the colours concerned in a predetermined and uniform way.” Colour combination which is not spatially delimited is not sufficiently precise.
•Examination “must also take account of the public interest in not unduly restricting the availability of colours for other traders who market goods or services of the same type as those in respect of which registration is sought.”
Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products,514 U.S, 159,1995
United nations Supreme Court held that the Lanham Act was very broad in its definition of what a trademark could be and includes “ any word, name, symbol or device or any combination thereof so long as it acts to identify source of a particular object”.
Thus a colour could meet the legal requirements for trademark registration under the Lanham Act provided it has acquired secondary meaning in the market.
Though colours do not automatically evoke a connection to any product by themselves, they could take on a secondary meaning in the course of use in the market thus serving the chief purpose of trademark, that of identifying the source.
Functionality doctrine was no bar to the registration of colour as trademark
Colour could be trademarked separately from any trade dress protection.
SOUND MARKS
• Depends on aural perception of the listener which may be as fleeting as the sound itself.
• If a sound lingers in the mind of the listener and is so inherently different or distinctive that it causes the mind of the listener to be awakened when heard and
• the listener subsequently associates a source or event with that sound then the sound may be eligible for trademark.
Modes of graphical represntation
• Séquence of Musical notes • Sonogram• Audio tape recording• Onomatoepic description• Musical notation specifying
pitch and duration of sound• Electronic application with an
attached sound file.
Position in U.S.A
ROAR OF A LION, MGM
16
SOUND MARKS – E.U
Shield Mark BV v. Joost Kist h.o.d.n. Memex (Case C-283/01 (ECJ Nov. 27, 2003)):
• Shield Mark owned numerous Benelux trademarks for the first nine notes of Beethoven’s
“Für Elise” and the sound of a cock crowing
• The Court of Justice said a sound mark is registrable provided that “it can be represented
graphically, particularly by means of images, lines or characters, and that its representation is
clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective.Those
requirements are satisfied where the mark is represented by a stave divided into measures and
showing, in particular, a clef, musical notes and rests whose form indicates the relative value
and, where necessary, accidentals.
• Onomatopoeic description or mere sequence of musical notes would not be sufficient for
the purposes of graphical representation for the pitch and duration of the mark cannot be
determined by them.
Sound marks registered in India
• 3- note Yahoo Yodel
• ICICI’s Jingle
• Allianz’s sound mark
SMELL MARKS
examples
• Smell of rose for tyres• Smell of freshly cut grass for
Tennis balls• The odour of beer for dart flights • Smell of plumeria blossoms for
yarn• Smell of vanilla for office files• Cherry scent for synthetic
lubricants
Important Questions
• Whether the smell is an inherent attribute natural characteristic of the goods?
• Whether the smell added by the applicant is to identify the goods?
• Will the public regard the smell as sign which identifies the applicant’s goods?
• Is the mark represented graphically?
iIn Re Clarke , 17 U.S.P.Q 2d 1238(TTAB 1990)
• The Applicant was the only person marketing scented yarns and threads and had emphasized this characteristic of her goods in advertising
• Fragrance was not an inherent attribute or natural characteristic of the goods but a feature supplied by the Applicant
• Applicant promoted the scented nature of her goods in advertising
• Applicant demonstrated that customers, dealers and distributors of her products had come to recognize the Applicant as the source of these goods.
Dr. Ralf Sieckmann vs Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt ( 2oo2)
• C6H5-CH=CHCOOCH3(chemical formula)
• Description 'fruity balsamic smell with a slight hint of cinnamon'
• Deposit of sample
• Combination of these methods
H• Trade mark may consist of a sign which is not in itself capable
of being perceived visually provided it can be represented graphically.
• The graphical representation must enable the sign to be visually represented by means of images, lines or characters that it can be precisely defined
• Representation should be clear, precise, self contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective.
• in respect of an olfactory sign, the requirements of graphic representability are not satisfied by a chemical formula, by a description in written words, by the deposit of an odour sample or by a combination of those elements.
Shapes — EU — Examples
Coca-Cola bottle
Bang & Olufsen loudspeaker
Philips three-headed rotary shaver
Dishwasher tablet
CJEU, 14 September 2010, case C-48/09 P, Lego/OHIM (Mega Brands)
CJEU, 14 September 2010, case C-48/09 P, Lego/OHIM (Mega Brands)
For registration the proprietor of the shape mark must prove that his mark :
• is capable of being represented graphically• is capable of distinguishing goods of one trader from
those of another trader• is not devoid of any distinctive character or, if it is, has
acquired a• distinctive character through the use that has been
made of it• does not consist exclusively of the shape which results
from the nature of the goods themselves• does not consist exclusively of the goods which is
necessary to obtain a technical result; and• does not consist exclusively of the shape which gives
substantial value to the goods
yPhilips Electronics NV v. Remington Consumer Products Ltd (Case C-299/99 (ECJ June
16, 2002)):• A sign consisting exclusively of the shape of a product is unregistrable by
virtue if is established that the essential functional features of that shape
are attributable only to the technical result.
• Moreover, the ground for refusal or invalidity of registration imposed by
that provision cannot be overcome by establishing that there are other
shapes which allow the same technical result to be obtained.”
• In order to be capable of distinguishing an article for the purposes of Article
2 of the Directive, the shape of the article in respect of which the sign is
registered does not require any capricious addition, such as an
embellishment which has no functional purpose
• Extensive use of a sign which consists of the shape of those goods may be
sufficient to give the sign a distinctive character.
Procedural Requirements for Registering a Shape Mark in India
Procedural requisites for the filing of shape marks as trademarks are
outlined in The Trademark Rules, 2002. These include:
•A written description of the shape which is intended to be used as a
trademark along with a two dimensional graphic or photographic
representation of the mark presented in at least three different
angles of viewing;
•In case the registrar is not satisfied with the detail in the application,
the applicant may be asked to present the mark in five additional
angles of viewing and a further verbose description of the mark;
•In the case where the registrar is still not satisfied with the
application, the applicant maybe asked to submit a specimen of the
shape along with the application.