Judgment of the General Court in case T-488/20

Press and Information General Court of the European Union PRESS RELEASE No 126/21 Luxembourg, 14 July 2021 Judgment in Case T-488/20 Guerlain v EUIPO EU trade mark: the three-dimensional mark in the shape of a Guerlain lipstick may be registered The General Court annuls the decision of EUIPO which dismissed Guerlain’s initial application Guerlain applied to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for registration of a three-dimensional EU trade mark in respect of lipsticks. It is a three-dimensional sign consisting in the shape of a lipstick, represented as follows: The EUIPO Examiner found that the mark applied for lacked distinctive character 1 and dismissed the application. The Board of Appeal upheld that decision, finding that the mark did not depart sufficiently from the norms and customs of the sector. The General Court of the European Union annuls the decision of the Board of Appeal. It finds that the mark applied for has distinctive character because it departs significantly from the norm and customs of the lipstick sector. Assessment of the General Court First, the General Court recalls that the assessment of whether it has distinctive character is not based on the originality or the lack of use of the mark applied for in the field to which the goods and services concerned belong. Indeed, a three-dimensional mark consisting in the shape of the 1 The distinctive character of a mark, within the meaning of Article 7(1)(b) of...