General Court confirms that ‘La Mafia se sienta a la mesa’ cannot be a trade mark on public policy grounds
Can ‘La Mafia se sienta a la mesa’ [‘se sienta a la mesa’ means ‘takes a seat at the table’] be registered as a figurative EU trade mark (EUTM) [see right] for a variety of goods and services in Classes 25, 35 and 43 of the Nice Agreement (including clothing and a restaurant chain) or would a registration of this kind be contrary to accepted principles of public policy and morality? This morning the General Court (GC) held that the latter is the correct approach in its decision in La Mafia Franchises v EUIPO , T-1/17 . Background In 2006 an application for registration of the ‘La Mafia se sienta a la mesa’ in the Nice classes above was filed, and the trade mark was registered in 2007. In 2015 Italy filed an application with the EUIPO for a declaration that the contested mark was invalid in respect of all of the goods and services for which it had been registered. According to the Italian Republic this mark was contrary to what is n...