The French fashion label, Chanel, has lost its battle in the EU court against Huawei over the use of its logo.
Judges have ruled in Huawei’s favour after the tech brand sought to rubberstamp an EU-wide trademark for a brand logo it wanted, despite fashion giant Chanel arguing it was too similar. Chanel went so far as to file a notice to oppose the registration of the trademark, explaining that it showed similarities akin to its own marks already registered for clothing, cosmetics, perfumes, leather goods and costume jewellery.
However, a decision made on 28 November 2019 by EUIOP rejected Chanel’s application on the grounds that the mark applied for by Huawei was not like its own and the likelihood of confusion on the part of the relevant public was not apparent.
The court said in its findings that Chanel’s logo featured thicker lines with more rounded curves, before concluding in Luxembourg that both logos do share some similarities but ultimately their visual differences are too significant.
The law states that trademarks of any kind, when being submitted, should adhere to all relevant checks, including not infringing upon an already in use logo or trademark. Evidently, it was ruled Huawei did not fall foul of these rules.
Chanel put forth motions to challenge the initial ruling, however, with the General Court siding with the EU Intellectual Property Office, the company’s appeal was thrown out.
“The figurative marks at issue are not similar. Said marks need to be compared to and applied for without altering their orientation,” said the tribunal of judges.
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