The Smiley Company v OHIM, EU General Court
In another decision of the European Union General Court rejecting a trade mark application for lack of distinctiveness this month, a three-dimensional sign consisting of a circle with two heart-shaped eyes and a curved-smile line was the latest application to suffer. The Court once again upheld OHIM’s refusal. The trade mark application was in relation to foodstuffs, but the use of basic geometrical shapes with decorative elements such as faces was rejected in acting to distinguish one supplier’s goods from another.
