No overprotection of weakly distinctive trademarks

In a Judgement of September 13th, the General Court of the European Union confirmed that there was no likelihood of confusion between the trademark (see illustration) and the prior mark HYDRABIO, despite the significant similarities between the elements HYDRA-BIOME and HYDRABIO.

The court recalled that “where the earlier trade mark and the mark applied for coincide in an element that is weakly distinctive with regard to the goods at issue, the global assessment of the likelihood of confusion does not often lead to a finding that such likelihood exists”.

Indeed, “ where the elements of similarity between two signs arise from the fact that they share a component which has weak inherent distinctive character, the impact of such elements of similarity on the global assessment of the likelihood of confusion is itself low”.

Having considered that the HYDRABIO sign, composed of the prefix HYDRA and the suffix BIO, had little distinctive character for cosmetics, the Court found that despite the visual and phonetic similarities with HYDRA-BIOME and the dominant character of this term in the contested trademark, the presentation in two terms, the addition of the letters ME, as well as the presence of the house mark KORRES, figurative elements and colors, there was no likelihood of confusion between the trademarks.

General Court of the European Union - 13 September 13^th  2023 – T-328/22. For more information, click here.