Department of Law

LL.B
Intellectual Property Law

Workshop Four

Trade Mark I
Registration of Trade Marks

Aims and Objectives:

To introduce students to the theory underpinning the law of trade

marks.

To determine the systems for registering a mark and grounds for

refusal.

Learning outcomes:
By the end of this workshop students should have:

an understanding of the discussion surrounding the contemporary

function of a trade mark;

knowledge of the three elements which form the definition of a trade

mark;

knowledge of the routes a trader might choose to register a mark;

an appreciation of the different policy reasons which underlie the

Absolute Grounds for Refusal of Registration, and how the Grounds
have been interpreted;

an understanding of the protection conferred on a trade mark by the

Relative Grounds for Refusal; and,

an appreciation of the impact of the case law of the CJEU.

Task One

Pre-session Reading

Books
L Bently, B Sherman, Intellectual Property Law (4th edn OUP, Oxford 2014) chs
31 & 36-38
OR
H Norman, Intellectual Property Law Directions (2nd edn OUP, Oxford 2014) chs
12 & 14
Cases
Case C-299/99 Koninklijke Philips Electronics v Remington Consumer Products
[2002] ECR I-5475
Case C-487/07 LOral v Bellure [2009] ECR I-5185
Case C-48/09P Lego Juris v OHIM [2010] ECR I-8403
Case C-323/09 Interflora v M&S [2011] ECR I-8625
Interflora v M&S [2013] FSR 33 (HC) and [2014] EWCA Civ 1403 (CA)
Articles
J Bergquist, D Curley, Shape Trade Marks & Fast-Moving Consumer Goods
(2008) 30 EIPR 17
A Chronopoulos, Legal & Economic Arguments for the Protection of Advertising
Value Through Trade Mark Law (2014) 4 QMJIP 256
L Donnellan, Three Dimensional Trade Marks (2010) 32 EIPR 132
TD Drescher, The Transformation & Evolution of Trademarks From Signals to
Symbols to Myths (1992) 82 TMR 301
B Goebel, Trademarks as Fundamental Rights Europe (2009) 99 TMR 931
M Goulbourn, Registration of Olfactory, Aural & Three-Dimensional Trade
Marks in the EU & UK (2012) 7 JIPLP 816

M Handler, The Distinctive Problem of European Trade Mark Law (2005) 27

EIPR 306
J Jones, Have a Break...Have a CJEU Kit Kat Reference (2014) 36 EIPR 733
MP McKenna, The Normative Foundations of Trademark Law (2007) 82 Notre
Dame LR 1839 or (2007) 97 TMR 1126
PL Roncaglia, GE Sironi, Trademark Functions & Protected Interests in the
Decisions of the ECJ (2011) 101 TMR 147
H Rosler, The Rationale for European Trade Mark Protection (2007) 29 EIPR
100
N Schober, The Function of a Shape as an Absolute Ground for Refusal (2013)
44 IIC 35 excellent for shapes of trade marks
M Senftleben, Function Theory & International Exhaustion (2014) 36 EIPR 518
JN Sheff, Marks, Morals & Markets (2013) 65 Stanford LR 761

Task Two

Peer Evaluation & In Session Discussion

Please prepare question 5 for peer evaluation.

1

What is the purpose or function of a trade mark? Should these functions

be limited?

List the 3 criteria that must be satisfied in order for a mark to be

registrable?

On what grounds may a mark be refused?

Shape trade marks do not provide a panacea. They are difficult to obtain
for fast moving commercial goods and their packaging. Even those that
are granted may not withstand a validity attack, if challenged.
J Bergquist, D Curley, Shape Trade Marks and Fast-Moving Consumer
Goods (2008) 30 EIPR 17
Critically discuss.

The Comfy Snow Clothing Co. have produced a new ski boot with a
revolutionary shape, called BUUT-SKI. It is an interactive ski boot
such that it senses the pleasure of the skier when skiing well and releases
a heady aroma of pine needles. When the wearer careers too fast towards
a stationary object the boot emits a distinctive sound to warn the skier
and anyone in the vicinity. Furthermore the boot is a highly distinctive

yellow with nine purple stripes running laterally over the soft plastic
casing.
Advise the Comfy Snow Clothing Co. on the possibility of registering
any trademarks for the BUUT-SKI.