In Case T-275/21, Louis Vuitton Malletier v EUIPO, decided on
the 19 October 2022, the European General Court (Tenth Chamber)
(the "General Court") confirmed the European Union
Intellectual Property Office's ("EUIPO") decision
that the Damier Azur pattern had not acquired distinctiveness
through use and hence could not be registered as an EU trade
mark.
Case Background
Louis Vuitton (the "Applicant") has lost a 7-year long
battle to protect its staple chequerboard Damier Azur pattern.
Despite obtaining an international registration from the
International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property
Organisation ("WIPO") on the 4 November 2008 for those
goods and services falling within Class 18 of the 'Nice
Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and
Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks', on the
25 June 2015, Mr. Norbert Wisniewski filed an application with the
EUIPO for a declaration of invalidity.
