The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that fabrics with decorative designs are eligible to be registered as trademarks. The CJEU's Fifth Chamber issued its ruling in Textilis v Svenkst Tenn today, March 14, after a Swedish appeals court sought clarification on European case law. The Swedish court asked firstly whether an EU regulation governing the eligibility of certain trademarks was applicable to marks registered before its implementation. Secondly, the court sought clarification on whether, under this regulation, a two-dimensional product such as a fabric decorated with a sign should be treated in the same way as shapes. Svenskt Tenn brought a trademark infringement case against Textilis, a UK textiles company, for infringing its 'Manhattan' mark for a decorative fabric design featuring a stylised map of the New York City borough. The court also found that a sign such as the 'Manhattan' mark, which consists "of two-dimensional decorative motifs" on a piece of fabric or paper, was not exclusively constituted by the shape of the goods. This was because these goods, as the 'Manhattan' fabric, contained "decorative elements".

Source: www.worldipreview.com