MMMMMMMMMM!
15 Mar
Logos of single letters can be difficult to deal with… there are only 26 letters and only so much you can do with a letter in a logo. If you have a logo containing a letter registered, how strong are your rights?
The answer to this question was the concern of case O/083/10 of the UKIPO. Morrison Supermarkets Plc (a larger chain of supermarkets, for those outside the UK) applied to register the following logo:
As is the way with supermarkets, they applied to register for a wide variety of goods and services, including financial services. The application was opposed insofar as it related to financial services by Esco Marginalen AB, the owners of this mark:
Esco argued that the application was confusingly similar to their registration, which covered financial service and monetary affairs. Whilst the hearing officer found that the respective services were identical and/or similar, and whilst he perceived a level of similarity in the marks, in his view no confusion would occur. This was partially due to the fact that the services in question were financial services (where consumers would pay more care than other goods or services) and partially because the logo was not particularly distinctive of itself and so (without proof of additional distinctiveness through use) it was his view that consumers would not assume a connection as there were differences in the marks.
The moral of the story? If you have a mark which is inherently weak, try to prove that your mark is stronger because of the use you made of it. If you are the defending party, try to show that consumers are discerning.
