Case R 50/2024-2, Johannes Hendricus Maria Smit (EUIPO)

Court

Grand Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office

Our Position

Signs consisting of photorealistic images of human faces do not raise per se concerns under a trademark prospective and should not be treated differently than, for instance, marks consisting of drawings of humans. Indeed, signs consisting of photorealistic facial images of people, including famous people, are not per se excluded from trademark protection.

The reputation of the person depicted would not be per se sufficient to establish acquired distinctiveness under Article 7(3) EUTMR, since what is required to this end is a systematic use of the sign as a trademark not of the face of the person in non-trademark uses.

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