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ARTICLE · 14 NOVEMBER 2022

Slogans – Can They Be Registered As Trademarks?

The report from EUIPO has provided us with the following list of factors which may serve to determine if a slogan has distinctive character.

European UnionIntellectual Property

On EU-level it depends on whether your slogan is merely perceived as a promotional formula or if it is also considered an indication of commercial origin - if the latter is the case, then the answer is yes, your slogan can be registered as a trademark.

A trademark's purpose is to indicate the origin of specific goods and services and thereby allow the consumers to distinguish between different undertakings. In order to fulfill this purpose, a trademark must have distinctive character.

This is where it gets a bit tricky for slogans (compared to i.e., logos) since slogans, rather than being perceived as indicators of origin, are generally perceived by consumers as nothing more than commercial instruments in the marketing of goods and service. For this reason, slogans are struggling to meet the legal requirement of distinctive character.

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