Blackrock, Inc v OHIM, EU General Court
The European Union’s General Court has upheld a decision by the OHIM Board of Appeal that the slogan “INVESTING FOR A NEW WORLD” lacked distinctiveness and should therefore not be registered as a European Community Trade Mark. It decided that the relevant public would not perceive it as an indication of commercial origin of services as it was merely a banal slogan with a clear and unambiguous laudatory meaning. The relevant public would pay a high level of attention too due to it involving financial services. Not only was it considered to be a banal expression, the General Court added that the mark did not constitute a play on words or include any imaginative, surprising or unexpected elements capable of conferring distinctive character in the minds of the relevant public. Ouch! The appeal was therefore rejected.