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ARTICLE · 13 DECEMBER 2023

Navigating Unusual Trade Marks, Insights From Europe

ENS
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When IP lawyers in Africa want to know where IP is headed, our gaze often turns to Europe. And for many of us, there is only one place to go - the IPKat blog.

GlobalIntellectual Property
Manisha Bugwandeen-Doorasamy
Manisha Bugwandeen-Doorasamy
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When IP lawyers in Africa want to know where IP is headed, our gaze often turns to Europe. And for many of us, there is only one place to go - the IPKat blog. In this article, we will discuss some recent IP developments in the European Union ("EU").

Smell trade marks - scented golf balls

It is, of course, possible to register a smell as a trade mark, but, it is never easy. When it comes to smell (aka olfactory) trade marks, the first port of call tends to be the famous Sieckman case, a case which said that:

  • To be registrable, the representation of the mark must be clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective.
  • A trade mark might comprise all sorts of interesting things such as a chemical formula, a code of an international classification of smells, a sample of the smell, and a colour code used by the perfume industry.

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