Associate and Trade Mark Attorney Ben Evans has been published in the October/November 2016 edition of the ITMA Review. Ben comments on the decision in an appeal to the Appointed Person of a UK IPO trade mark opposition and revocation action.
The case involved an opposition and revocation action by DeLorean Motor Company of Texas against an application, and earlier registration, for the mark DE LOREAN by DeLorean Motor Company Ltd. The opposition failed but the revocation action succeeded and, as a result, both parties appealed the decision.
Whilst the AP's decision in respect of upholding the revocation decision is not a surprise, given the limited use made by the Registrant, it is interesting that the AP confirmed that reputation built through the use of a mark for memorabilia (etc) can be used to demonstrate protectable goodwill in the mark for other goods/services. This is, perhaps, useful for the likes of professional sports teams who likely sell a significant amount of memorabilia/merchandise compared with, perhaps, relatively low incomes deriving directly from their core entertainment services.
To read the article in full, please click here.
This article was first published in the October/November 2016 issue of the ITMA Review, the journal of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA). For more information on ITMA, please visit itma.org.uk
