Het beschrijvende beeldmerk

B9 11448. Gerecht EU, 11 juli 2012, zaak T-559/10, Laboratoire Garnier tegen OHIM (Natural Beauty).

Merkenrecht. Weigering inschrijving als gemeenschapsmerk van het beeldmerk met het woordelement “natural beauty” (voor schoonheidsproducten). Kansloze zaak, maar aardig als voorbeeld tegen de stelling dat ieder beschrijvend merk wel zonder veel moeite als beeldmerk kan worden ingeschreven.

22  In the present case, it is not disputed that the words ‘natural’ and ‘beauty’ have a clear meaning in English. (…) the Board of Appeal correctly found that, in the light of the goods covered, the public concerned would perceive the expression ‘natural beauty’ as a meaningful expression, capable of describing the fact that the goods covered help the consumer to preserve his or her natural beauty, and conveying, therefore, obvious and direct information on the quality of the goods. (….)  The typeface applied is banal and the presentation, one above the other, of the two word elements cannot be regarded as unusual. (…) Those graphical elements cannot, as the applicant wrongly claims, give the impression of a logo, and those facts, by themselves, cannot confer a distinctive character on the sign applied for.

Lees het arrest hier.