General Court rules that shape of Guerlain's Rouge G lipstick case can be registered as a trade mark
Can the shape of a lipstick case function as an indicator of commercial origin? The answer is yes when such case is the iconic and immediately recognizable (at least to lipstick lovers!) one of Rouge G de Guerlain : Today, also the General Court did agree in its judgment in T-488/20 Guerlain [currently only available in French] . The judgment (correctly) reverses the earlier, contrary decision of the EUIPO First Board of Appeal ( 2292/2019-1 ). Background In 2018, Guerlain applied to register the 3D sign represented above (left-hand side) for “lipsticks” in Class 3. The EUIPO examiner rejected the application considering that the sign would lack distinctive character, in accordance with Article 7(1)(b) EUTMR . The subsidiary claim of the applicant under Article 7(3) EUTMR (acquired distinctiveness) could be examined once the decision became final. Guerlain unsuccessfully appealed. The EUIPO Board considered that the shape applied for wou...