Common French Names Registrable Every Bit Uk Merchandise Marks

The Trade Marks Act 1994 has been inward forcefulness inward the Great Britain since thirty Oct 1994. The occasional item of litigation nether the one-time law, the Trade Marks Act 1938, yet crops up. EI du Pont de Nemours & Co v ST Dupont is a illustration inward point. USA fabrics manufacturer EI du Pont de Nemours applied to register DU PONT inward cast 25 (clothing); French fellowship Dupont opposed on the ground that the grade was not, too could non be, distinctive; Dupont afterward sought to ameliorate the opposition past times pleading that DU PONT was too a mutual French surname. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 farther dry ground of opposition was that purpose of the DU PONT merchandise grade would live deceptive since Dupont had used it for a long time. Before the Registry the Hearing Officer dismissed the opposition too refused to let the amendment. On appeal Neuberger J allowed both the amendment. In parallel proceedings betwixt the 2 parties Dupont applied to register the unmarried give-and-take DUPONT, too for article of apparel inward cast 25. Reversing the determination of the Hearing Officer, Neuberger J rejected EI du Pont de Nemours’ opposition.

The Court of Appeal restored the Hearing Officer’s determination for a diverseness of reasons, largely evidential. In detail it held that Neuberger J should non stimulate got taken unwrap of the fact that Du Pont was a mutual French surname which was listed to a greater extent than than 800 times inward the Paris band directory: the fact that a surname was mutual inward Paris was irrelevant to the interrogation whether it could serve every bit a surname inward the United Kingdom. Also, given the extent of EI du Pont de Nemours’ purpose of the DU PONT merchandise grade inward relation to fabrics, it could non live said that its purpose of the same grade inward relation to article of apparel would live deceptive.

applauds the Court of Appeal’s reasoning on the frequency of French names too notes that the electrical current criteria for absolute bars to registration every bit a merchandise grade nether the Trade Marks Act 1994 create non expressly include the fact that a merchandise grade is too a mutual surname. When the ECJ’s ruling on the registration of surnames comes out inward Nicholls’ illustration , nosotros volition all live the wiser for it.

More on French surnames here, here and here
Lyrics to Monsieur Dupont here