Repeated trade mark applications and bad faith: the General Court of the EU provides a further example (T-877/25, 11 November 2026)
[12/11/2026]
The General Court of the European Union has just provided a further example of the distinction between a legitimate portfolio strategy and an application made in bad faith. Click here to view the Tribunal’s judgment.
In this case, a new version of the trade mark THE STANDARD, in red and white, had been filed… the day after an application for revocation had been lodged against a very similar earlier trade mark, in black and white.
This timing naturally raised questions.
However, in the General Court’s view, it is not sufficient in itself to establish bad faith.
Indeed, repeated registration is not prohibited in itself, and the protection of a new graphic variation of a trade mark may be based on a legitimate commercial rationale. Furthermore, the proprietor’s earlier trade mark was indeed being used in relation to at least some of the services it covered. The actual use of the trade mark and the proprietor’s overall protection strategy may thus enable the proprietor to avoid a finding of bad faith.
Bad faith must therefore always be determined on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of all the relevant circumstances.