The General Court (GC) has confirmed that there is no 'end
consumer' test for assessing genuine use, nor a need to have
physically launched products in the marketplace.
Proving use of a registered trade mark can often be difficult
and onerous; however, the recent GC decision in Fruit of the Loom,
Inc v EUIPO provides helpful guidance in determining whether use is
genuine if it has not been made to the end consumer.
Background to Fruit of the Loom, Inc v EUIPO
Fruit of the Loom, Inc own a European Union Trade Mark (EUTM)
for FRUIT in respect of 'clothing, footwear, headgear'.
Takko Holding GmbH applied to cancel the registration on the
grounds of non-use. Fruit of the Loom submitted evidence which
included use of the word FRUIT as a stand alone element in
preparatory works for the launch of a new clothing range, along
with evidence that professionals within the retail sector had seen
these preparatory works.
