B9 10271. Gerecht EU, 13 oktober 2011, zaak T-393/09, NEC Display Solutions tegen OHIM/Nokia.
Merkenrecht. EU-oppositieprocedure o.g.v. nationale en communautaire woordmerk NAVI tegen de inschrijving van het woordmerk NaViKey (menunavigatiesysteem). Oppositie toegewezen.
48. It follows from the foregoing that the two terms making up the mark applied for have, at least, a weak distinctive character.
60. Given the high degree of similarity between the goods and services in question and the similarity between the signs in dispute, at least visually and phonetically, it must be held that there is a likelihood that the relevant public would not distinguish between the two signs in dispute, the only difference between them being the presence of the final syllable ‘key’ in the mark applied for. That difference is so slight that even an observant and circumspect public might think that the mark applied for is a variant of the earlier mark and that the goods and services in question therefore have the same commercial origin or come from economically-linked undertakings. Moreover, since, as was found at paragraph 52 above, the signs in dispute are visually similar, the applicant’s argument that the visual aspect should have played a more important role in the present case when the likelihood of confusion between the signs in dispute was assessed is entirely unfounded.
Lees het arrest hier.
