2024年12月29日 星期日

Cartier lost its opposition against trademark “EPRVE”

CARTIER INTERNATIONAL AG (“Cartier”) lost in trademark opposition against CVIMALL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (“CVIMALL”), unable to persuade Taiwan’s IP Office (“TIPO”) that there exists likelihood of confusion between Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” and CVIMALL’s “EPVRE” trademarks.

CVIMALL’s trademark, “EPVRE” (no. 02227225, see below), was filed on August 5, 2021, and granted on June 16, 2022, designated for use in products in class 3, including shampoo, conditioner, lotion, facial mask, facial cleanser, and skin care products. Cartier filed opposition on September 14, 2022, citing violations of Article 30.1.10, 30.1.11, and 30.1.12 of Trademark Act.

According to Cartier, the asserted trademark, “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” (no. 02049323, see below), was the brand of perfume Cartier introduced in 2020. Due to the success of the product, the brand “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” has become famous among relevant consumers. Given that “LES” and “DE” are definite articles and preposition in French, and that “PARFUM” means “perfume” in French, Cartier argued that the most distinctive and dominant element in Cartier’s asserted trademark should be “ÉPURES”. In this light, CVIMALL’s “EPVRE” is similar and may cause confusion among the relevant consumers.

On November 22, 2024, TIPO ruled in CVIMALL’s favor, finding that:

1.    The similarity between Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” and CVIMALL’s “EPVRE” is low. TIPO did not consider that ordinary consumers would, as Cartier argued, necessarily consider “ÉPURES” the dominant portion, because French is not a language that Taiwan’s consumers are familiar with. Besides, CVIMALL’s trademark “EPVRE” has no ordinary meaning, and only constitutes one word. In this light, ordinary consumers are likely to recognize that there are visual, verbal, and conceptual differences between Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” and CVIMALL’s “EPVRE” trademarks.

2.    Although TIPO recognized that both Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” and CVIMALL’s “EPVRE” covered similar product category, TIPO found evidence submitted by both parties could not show which trademark is more famous or recognizable among the relevant consumers. On the side of Cartier, TIPO found some of the evidence either lacked critical date or missed Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM”, which was insufficient to support a finding of well-known status. On the side of CVIMALL, TIPO found it has submitted evidence showing its actual use of “EPVRE” on its skin care products, including webpages on Yahoo, PChome, Shopee, Instagram, YouTube, and CVIMALL’s official websites. As such, TIPO concluded that both trademarks have been used on the relevant products, and there is no clear evidence indicating Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” is more distinctive or popular among the relevant consumers.

3.    Lastly, TIPO noted there was no evidence of actual confusion submitted by the parties.

In view of the above, given the low degree of similarity, the lack of evidence proving Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” well-known status, the facts that CVIMALL’s trademark is distinctive, and that there is no evidence showing actual confusion, TIPO determined that there should be no likelihood of confusion between Cartier’s “LES ÉPURES DE PARFUM” and CVIMALL’s “EPVRE” trademarks. Cartier’s opposition was denied by the TIPO accordingly.

Source: https://cloud.tipo.gov.tw/S282/OS0/OS0401_SCN3.jsp?issueNo=XpJ13RyT4ZW9UeVREMEh6U014VjBrSHVZTk1EQT09&l6=zh_TW&isReadBulletinen_US=&isReadBulletinzh_TW=true

沒有留言:

張貼留言

Cartier lost its opposition against trademark “EPRVE”

CARTIER INTERNATIONAL AG (“Cartier”) lost in trademark opposition against CVIMALL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (“CVIMALL”), unable to persuade ...