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General Court: Ganeder v. Ganter
In case T-374/09, the following opposition brought on the basis of Article 8(1) b) CTMR was appealed before the General Court
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CTM applicant- Fuzhou Fuan Leather Plastics Clothing Making Co. Ltd (China) |
Lorenz Shoe Group AG (Austria)- earlier CTM |
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GANEDER |
GANTER |
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Class 14 “jewelry”, 18 “bags”, 25 “clothing, shoes, leather clothing” |
Class 25 “Shoes, sandals, high-heeled sandals, slip-on shoes, slippers, boots, walking shoes” |
The Opposition Division and Board of Appeal considered that there is no likelihood of confusion for the average European consumer who has a higher degree of attention since the goods are not everyday consumption goods although necessary for the everyday life. Even for identical goods, due to the shortness of the signs, the visual and aural differences consisting of the middle part are sufficient to avoid a risk of confusion.
The General Court cancelled the contested decision. Contrary to the findings of OHIM, the average consumer will have an average degree of attention since shoes are common consumer goods. The consumer will pay higher attention to the beginning of the signs which is identical as well as the ending. Therefore, OHIM erred in finding that the signs were highly different visually and aurally- for example, in German, the accent will fall on the first syllable for both words.
Tags: General Court, likehood of confusion, ganeder, ganter,
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