Lancôme loses court appeal against trademark block

Published: 28-Jul-2008

Lancôme has lost an appeal at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Court of First Instance against a refusal to allow it EU-wide trademark rights to the term ‘COLOR EDITION’.


Lancôme has lost an appeal at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Court of First Instance against a refusal to allow it EU-wide trademark rights to the term ‘COLOR EDITION’.

EU trademark regulator the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) - OHIM, had earlier ruled that the mark was too “descriptive” of cosmetics products in general to be granted legal protection, preventing competitors from using the term in marketing.

Lancôme appealed but judges have backed the regulator, agreeing it was likely COLOR EDITION could “describe certain qualities of [cosmetic] products” and so should “remain in the public domain”.

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