Are the two trade marks confusingly similar? It's the
question that's most commonly asked in trade mark law. The
issue of confusion can arise in the context of registration: should
the trade mark be registered in the face of the earlier trade mark?
It can also arise in the context of use: does the trade mark
that's being used infringe the registered trade mark? The two
cases that we will consider here both involve registration.
Apples and pears
In a recent decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union
("CJEU") ruled against Apple in an
opposition that it had lodged against a trade mark application
filed by a Chinese company called Pear Technologies Ltd. The
application was for a Pear Logo and it was in classes 9, 35 and 42,
covering a range of computer-related goods and services. Apple
opposed the application on the basis of registrations for its
famous partially-eaten Apple Logo.
