A recent European Union ("EU") trade mark decision on
the registrability of the trade mark Corn Thins is interesting not
only because it deals with newly coined expressions and the issue
of distinctiveness, but it also shows how a bit of common sense can
go a long way.
The crisp issues (pun intended) in the case in question were
whether the trade mark Corn Thins was distinctive for goods that
were essentially crispbread slices made of corn, and whether an EU
trade mark registration was valid.
The lower tribunal (the Cancellation Division) held that the
trade mark Corn Thins was distinctive, and thus a valid
registration. It adopted a somewhat literal and pedantic approach
and said that the term Corn Thins was a neologism; that is, "a
new word or expression". It justified this finding by saying
that the word "thins" is not a noun but a new and playful
way to name a product from a specific producer and is registrable
as a trade mark.
