Is the numeral '1000' registrable as a Community Trade Mark?

As Community Trade Marks, all signs are registrable which can be represented graphically. A prerequisite for this, however, is that these signs are suitable to distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. In principle, individual numerals are therefore also registrable. The Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) now had to decide whether the numeral '1000' is registrable or whether this numeral exclusively describes the characteristics of the goods or services in question.

In 2005, the company Technopol, a Polish publisher of journals and brochures, filed the numeral '1000' as a Community Trade Mark with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). OHIM refused the application of the sign, as this numeral could designate the content of Technopol's publications. The sign was moreover not distinctive in character, because it would be perceived by the consumer as an advertisement of these publications and not as an indication of origin. Technopol objected to this decision by OHIM, which was subsequently decided in final instance by the Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH).

Decision of the Court

In itsdecision of 10.03.2011 – Az. C-51/10 P the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal filed, as the applied-for sign '1000', as a descriptive indication of the content for journals and brochures, did not possess distinctive character.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) first sets out that it is in the general interest of all economic operators who offer identical or similar goods or services that signs which describe their goods or services can be freely used.

In the view of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the court of first instance rightly found that if an application relates in particular to a category of goods whose content, as in the present case, is easily and typically designated by the number of their constituents, it must reasonably be assumed that a sign consisting of a numeral such as here the number '1000' will indeed be recognised by the relevant circles of trade as a description of this number and thus be identified as a characteristic of these goods.

Conclusion

In the case of applications for numerals, limits are also set in the case of applications for German Trade Marks. Insofar as these numerals merely designate the content of the goods offered or are understood by trade circles as such description, the applied-for trade mark lacks registrability. Before registering a Community Trade Mark or a German Trade Mark, let yourself be advised by a specialised attorney.