A bulldog with a citrus fruit in front of it

Gerecht EU, 15 april 2010, zaak T-488/07, CaseCabel Hall Citrus Ltd tegen OHIM

Gemeenschapsmerk. Nietigheidsprocedure tegen Gemeenschapswoordmerk EGLÉFRUIT o.g.v. oudere Gemeenschaps- en nationale merken UGLI en ‘UGLI Fruit – but the affliction is only skin deep’. Verwarringsgevaar  niet aannemelijk.

50. Concerning the EGLÉFRUIT mark and the figurative mark ‘UGLI Fruit – but the affliction is only skin deep’, it can also not be considered that the Board of Appeal made an error of assessment in holding that there was no likelihood of confusion. As is apparent from the Board of Appeal’s correct assessment of the similarity of the marks, there are very clear visual differences between them, in particular as a result of the distinctive and dominant figurative element of the earlier mark, representing a bulldog with a citrus fruit in front of it. Similarly, there is no conceptual link between the marks at issue. On the contrary, as the Board of Appeal noted, in so far as the word ‘ugli’ in the earlier mark is likely to be associated with the English word ‘ugly’ by the relevant public, there would appear even to be a conceptual difference.

51. In those circumstances, despite the fact that the goods covered by the marks at issue are identical, the degree of phonetic similarity established, which concerns the descriptive word elements ‘fruit’ and, to a small extent, the elements ‘eglé’ and ‘ugli’, does not, in the present case and of itself, support the finding that there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of consumers of everyday consumer goods.

Lees het arrest hier.