General Court denies likelihood of confusion between pharmaceutical marks containing “mar” element- Article by Dr. Florian Schwab in WTR Daily

On the online portal of the trade journal World Trademark Review, WTR Daily, BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT attorney Dr. Florian Schwab discusses a decision of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) in Case T-261/19 20 January 2021, Stada Arzneimittel AG v. European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

In this judgment, the Court upholds the decision of the First Board of Appeal of EUIPO that there is no likelihood of confusion between the EU figurative mark sign OPTIMAR and the earlier word mark MAR. For the latter, the evidence of genuine use was limited to “medical nasal sprays”.

With regard to the identically covered element MAR, the Court considered a below-average distinctive character in view of the recognisably descriptive reference to “sea” for medical nasal sprays.

The full article in English is available to registered users of WTR Daily here online and as a PDF download!