In a trademark opposition filed by Chanel SARL (“Chanel”), Taiwan’s IP Office (“TIPO”) sided with the fashion brand, cancelling the contested trademark “CHANTE’” over likelihood of confusion with Chanel’s iconic brand “CHANEL” (Reg. No. 000023823, see below).
The contested trademark, “CHANTE’” (Reg. No. 02396094, see below), was filed by Fei-Chang Apparel International Ltd. (“Fei Chang”) on June 21, 2023, and registered on August 16, 2024. In fact, Fei Chang once registered the same mark for Class 25 product (apparel), and was cancelled by TIPO in 2025 (See: https://tipnlaw.blogspot.com/2025/07/taiwans-ip-office-found-chante.html). This time, Fei Chang's mark covered services in Class 35, mainly retail services for clothing and apparel. Chanel filed opposition on October 24, 2024, alleging that registration of “CHANTE’” would still cause confusion with its famous brand “CHANEL”.
TIPO ruled in favor of Chanel on March 26, 2026, finding that the contested trademark should be cancelled in view of violation of Article 30.1.10 of Trademark Act.
1. Article 30.1.10 of Trademark Act provides that a mark shall not be registered if such a mark is identical or similar to another registered trademark, to be used in identical or similar goods or services, and hence may cause confusion among the relevant consumers.
2. Although Fei Chang argued that “CHANTE’” should be pronounced in French and its pronunciation should be quite different from “” CHANEL, TIPO found that visual similarity still exists, given that both trademarks consist of six letters, with the same first four letters “CHAN”. Besides, since French is not a common language in Taiwan, TIPO ruled that ordinary consumers would still find the two trademarks visually similar to each other.
3. TIPO noted that the contested trademark was registered for retail service for clothing, which is related to the apparel products designated by “CHANEL”. The service covered by “CHANTE’” is used to sell the product designated by “CHANEL”. Thus, TIPO considered the designated products and services relevant.
4. Moreover, based on the extensive evidence of trademark use, including the sales records, TIPO’s prior determinations, continuous news reports, and marketing materials, TIPO was convinced that “CHANEL” has been well-known in product categories like perfume, apparel, bags, and jewels, which warrants broader exclusivity.
In view of the above, given the similarity between the two trademarks, the relevancy between the designated services and products, and the strong brand recognition among Taiwan consumers, TIPO concluded that “CHANTE’” is confusingly similar to the famous “CHANEL”. Accordingly, the registration of the contested trademark was cancelled.
Source: https://cloud.tipo.gov.tw/S282/S282WV1/#/written-result-details/disposition?issueKey=doNQI%2BOjCc4XoPuFBMVgmzbXSKBM48SBKq90
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