When push came to shove, the General Court (GC) dismissed an
appeal against the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
Board of Appeal's finding that there was a likelihood of
confusion under Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR between the word marks PUSH
and PUNCH for identical goods, being various tobacco products in
class 34.
Sparking it up
By way of background, JT International S.A. (the applicant)
applied to register the word mark PUSH in March 2013.
Corporación Habanos, SA filed an opposition against this
application on the basis of a number of national marks for PUNCH
(both word and figurative marks), alleging a likelihood of
confusion.
Round one
At first instance, the Opposition Division found that the marks
PUNCH and PUSH were similar to varying degrees and that the goods
were similar, if not identical. Nevertheless, they emphasised the
brand loyalty of smokers and the corresponding high level of
attention on the part of the relevant public, such that
