After the credit crunch yet another setback for Air France: according to the European trademark agency (OHIM) the new Air France logo lacks distinctiveness. It is all about the “parallelogram” shown here on the left; no color, rounded bottom and stretched to the left. The relevant public will not differentiate this logo from a typical classic parallelogram. Nor will the relevant public perceive it as an essential renewal of the original corporate logo (right), which Air France claims to have the advantage of being well known to the public. Air France failed to prove that the “parallelogram”, after introduction but before the trademark application, acquired distinctiveness. The evidence dates from after the trademark application and is thus not sufficient to prove acquired distinctiveness by use.
Read the decision here (in French)
Eva den Ouden
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After the credit crunch yet another setback for Air France: according to the European trademark agency (OHIM) the new Air France logo lacks distinctiveness. It is all about the “parallelogram” shown here on the left; no color, rounded bottom and stretched to the left. The relevant public will not differentiate this logo from a typical classic parallelogram. Nor will the relevant public perceive it as an essential renewal of the original corporate logo (right), which Air France claims to have the advantage of being well known to the public. Air France failed to prove that the “parallelogram”, after introduction but before the trademark application, acquired distinctiveness. The evidence dates from after the trademark application and is thus not sufficient to prove acquired distinctiveness by use.
Read the decision here (in French)
Eva den Ouden