Chiquita Brands (Florida, United States) obtained from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) registration as an EU trademark for several foodstuffs, including fresh fruits, in respect of the following figurative sign.
In May 2020, Compagnie financière de participation (Marseilles, France) applied to EUIPO for a declaration that that mark was invalid. In its view, that mark was devoid of any distinctive character. The trademark was declared invalid in May 2023, but only in respect of fresh fruits, including bananas. EUIPO considered that the mark was devoid of any distinctive character for those goods and that Chiquita Brands had not established that it had acquired distinctive character through use, which would have prevented its cancellation.
Chiquita Brands challenges EUIPO's decision before the General Court of the European Union. In its judgment, the General Court dismisses the action and thus confirms the invalidity of the mark in respect of fresh fruits. The General Court considers that neither the shape nor the blue and yellow color scheme of the mark confers distinctive character on it. The shape of the mark corresponds to that of a simple geometric figure (a variation of an oval), with no easily and instantly memorable characteristics. In addition, oval labels are commonly used in the sector of bananas, as they are easy to stick onto curved fruits. Consequently, that shape will not be capable of attracting the attention of the public or enabling it to identify the commercial origin of the fresh fruits designated by the mark.
As regards the color scheme, the General Court finds that it is a combination of primary colors common in the fresh fruits business and its use in the mark does not make it particularly characteristic or striking. Those colors are therefore not capable of distinguishing those goods.
According to the General Court, Chiquita Brands did not succeed in demonstrating that its mark, as registered, had acquired, for the entire territory of the European Union, distinctive character through use that would enable the commercial origin of the goods in question to be identified. First, most of the evidence submitted refers to only four Member States, and it has not been established that the situation in the fresh fruit market in those countries would have been the same in the other Member States. Secondly, in almost all the evidence, the mark appears with additional figurative or word elements, in particular, the word 'Chiquita'.
For more information:
Jacques René Zammi
Chiquita Brands
Tel: (+352) 4303 3355
Email: [email protected]
www.curia.europa.eu