(CN) — A European Union court on Wednesday rejected a bid by AC Milan, a powerhouse Italian soccer club, to register its brand as an international trademark because of its close similarity to a brand already in use by a German stationary company.
The European General Court, a lower EU court, upheld a 2020 decision by the EU's trademark regulators that said the AC Milan logo was too similar to the Milan trademark granted in 1988 to InterES Handels- und Dienstleistungs Gesellschaft, a large German stationary and office supply company.
In registering its logo, AC Milan planned to use its trademark on stationary products. Stationary embellished with soccer club logos are popular in Europe, especially among schoolchildren.
In 2017, shortly after AC Milan filed for its international trademark, the Germany paper company objected.
The soccer club's main problem was that it wanted to include the words “AC Milan” under its main logo, an oval containing red and black stripes – the team's colors – and a red St. Ambrose cross on a white background, which is also the flag of Milan, Italy's business capital.
The court agreed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office and said German consumers might confuse AC Milan stationary products for the goods already sold by InterES Handels- und Dienstleistungs Gesellschaft.
“In the present case, since the word element ‘Milan’ is present in both the mark applied for and the earlier mark, the conflicting signs must be regarded as similar conceptually to an average degree for the part of the relevant public for whom that word has a meaning,” the ruling states.
The ruling can be appealed to the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
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