The misspelt word ‘lite’ is not sufficiently descriptive to be formally anointed as a European Union trademark for food products, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
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Its Court of First Instance has rejected an appeal by German company Rewe Zentral AG against a refusal by the EU’s Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade marks and Designs), to declare ‘lite’ a ‘Community trademark,’ which would command intellectual property rights across the EU. Judges agreed with the office that ‘lite’ was too general to “distinguish (Zentral’s) goods or services on the market from those of the same type offered by competitors.”
However, the court has rejected a decision by the office to block another German company from registering the term “Eurocool” as a European trademark for its transport of refrigerated perishables. Judges backed Eurocool Logistik GmbH in rejecting the office’s claim that its brand was not distinctive enough to warrant registration.
By Keith Nuthall, just-food.com correspondent
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