In
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
law, Sieckmann v
German Patent and Trademark Office
The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (german: Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt; abbreviation: DPMA) is the German national patent office, with headquarters in Munich, and offices in Berlin and Jena. In 2006 it employed 2556 people, of which ab ...
(case C-273/00) issued on December 12, 2002, is widely recognised as a landmark decision of the
European Court of Justice on the graphical representation of
non-conventional trademark
A non-conventional trademark, also known as a nontraditional trademark, is any new type of trademark which does not belong to a pre-existing, conventional category of trade mark, and which is often difficult to register, but which may nevertheless ...
s under the
European Trade Marks Directive.
The case involved a "
methyl cinnamate
Methyl cinnamate is the methyl ester of cinnamic acid and is a white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is found naturally in a variety of plants, including in fruits, like strawberry, and some culinary spices, such as Sichuan ...
" scent, which the applicant had described "as balsamically fruity with a slight hint of cinnamon". The ECJ ruled that (a) a chemical formula depicting this scent did not represent the odour of a substance, was not sufficiently intelligible, nor sufficiently clear and precise; (b) a written description was not sufficiently clear, precise and objective; and (c) a physical deposit of a sample of the scent did not constitute a graphic representation, and was not sufficiently stable or durable.
The case illustrates difficulties with the graphical representation of scent marks, as the ECJ held that these representations, whether individually or collectively, could not satisfy this requirement.
External links
The decisionThe opinion of Advocate General Ruiz-Jarabo ColomerFresh version of Non-conventional trademarks directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralf Sieckmann V Deutsches Patent Und Markenamt
Trademark case law
Court of Justice of the European Union case law
2002 in case law
German case law
2002 in Germany