1. Refusal of trademark representing an off-road vehicle: on 19 March 2025, the EU General Court upheld the refusal to register a trademark consisting of a “rough hand-drawn” sketch of an off-road vehicle.

The Court ruled that the drawing lacked distinctive character, considering it to be a “common representation of an off-road vehicle” without any elements which would allow it to be associated with a particular undertaking.

2. Acceptance of trademark representing a vehicle radiator grille: on 7 April 2025, Mercedes-Benz obtained registration of a figurative trademark representing a vehicle grille to designate “radiator grilles for vehicles”.

The trademark was initially rejected by the EUIPO as lacking distinctive character, this decision was annulled in appeal. The Board of Appeal indeed acknowledged that the radiator grille, with its structure produced a visual effect enabling Mercedes-Benz products to be distinguished from those of other manufacturers.

These two albeit opposite decisions are in line with current case law and highlight the importance of protecting such trademarks, particularly in the automotive field in order to prevent the difficulties of design protection in relation to vehicle spare parts (see in this regard our previous post and the AUDI decision in CJEU Case No C-334/22).