Case No. T-105/23 and T-106/23 Iceland Foods Limited (IFL) v. European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

Court

General Court of the European Union

Our Position

National state names are not per se excluded from trademark registration. As with all other geographical names, state names are not per se descriptive of geographic origin, quality, or other characteristics of goods/services. Whether a state name is descriptive and/or non-distinctive with respect to specific goods or services should be decided on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the existing case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The judicator bodies should assess whether a specific name state (or other geographical names) would be perceived as descriptive or non-distinctive with respect to the specific designated goods/services. 

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