A recent decision of the European Court of Justice overturned
decisions of the European Union for Intellectual Property and the
General Court which had found that the trademark FACK JU GÖHTE
was shockingly vulgar and in violation of public morality. The EU
decision is consistent with recent decisions of the US Supreme
Court and may represent a trend in cases of this type. These
decisions emphasize that questions of this nature need to be
decided objectively based on evidence not the taste of one examiner
or a judge. Freedom of expression must be considered and is an
important consideration.
Facts
The trademark applied for is the title of a German comedy film
produced by Constantin Film Produktion GmbH. The film was one of
the most successful films of 2013 in Germany. Two sequels to the
film were later produced and released in theatres under the titles
'Fack Ju Göhte 2' and 'Fack Ju Göhte 3'
in 2015 and 2017. Several million people saw the film when it was
released
