The General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union denied in the case T-776/16 (Isocell GmbH v. iCell AB) a likelihood of confusion between the earlier word mark ISOCELL and the word part of the younger figurative/word mark “iCell” for identical and similar goods. Considering the low level of distinctiveness of the word elements of the marks and the high attention that would be paid by the relevant consumers, the figurative elements of the mark “iCell” distinguish it clearly from the earlier mark. In this context, the court stated that the word elements of a figurative/word mark must not automatically always be regarded as the dominant element.
INTA Bulletin, dd. 1 July 2018
About INTA (International Trademark Association)
