About the importance of word elements in disputes involving figurative trademarks

The thesis:

• The EUIPO partially upheld a declaration of invalidity of LG’s figurative mark SMARTTHINQ based on the earlier figurative mark SMARTTHING
• The court dismissed LG’s argument that the signs were dissimilar because the figurative element of the earlier mark was the distinctive, dominant element, while ‘smarthing’ was descriptive
• The analysis of the similarity of the signs could not be carried out solely on the basis of the figurative element of the earlier mark, even assuming that it was dominant

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This article first appeared on WTR Daily, part of World Trademark Review, in May 2022. For further information, please go to www.worldtrademarkreview.com

Author: Zsófia Judit Halmágyi