Is a sign consisting of a date sufficiently distinctive to be
registered as a trademark in the watch and jewellery sector? In
September 2025, the General Court of the European Union answered
this in the negative regarding the application by watchmaker
Montres Tudor SA to register '1926' as a trademark right,
as Laura Vincent explains.
Distinctiveness is a key criterion for registration of a
trademark right.
Trademarks which consist exclusively of signs or indications
which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality,
quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the time
of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other
characteristics of the goods, are refused registration (Article
7(1) (c) of Regulation 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union Trade Mark).
