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Hispania more recognisable than Vienna?

29 February 2012
Hispania more recognisable than Vienna?

An applicant filed a trade mark application for a combined designation consisting of a stylised snowflake and stylised word part, Hispania.

The application was filed by a Russian applicant for goods in Class 11 and services in Class 35. The Patent Office refused registration because the claimed designation included the word Hispania which can be easily (according to the Patent Office) understood as Spain and thus be understood as the place of manufacture of the goods and the location of the person rendering services, which is not true to the fact because the applicant was a resident of Russia. As a result, the registration of the claimed designation could be misleading for the consumer.

In the meantime, another Russian applicant filed an application for Vienna Elegance for goods in Class 30. At first the Patent Office rejected the application for the same reasons: the city of Vienna is the capital of Austria and may be confusing for the consumer. This time however the applicant appealed the decision in the Chamber of Patent Disputes and had his appeal upheld. The Chamber of Patent Disputes argued that the claimed designation consisted of two word combinations each comprising two words, Vienna Elegance and Венская элегантность, the latter a translation of Vienna Elegance into Russian. According to the Chamber of Patent Disputes the semantics of the word combination does not warrant its understanding as an indication of the place of manufacture or marketing of the product. In addition, considering that the claimed designation is intended for marking the goods in Class 30, in particular for rare biscuits packed as gift sets, the claimed designation may be perceived as an indication of certain refinement of taste.

This conclusion is certainly debatable and shows that it is not possible to set clear-cut principles for the perception of words. There will always be an unpredictable human element.

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