Judgment_paragraph 26 · DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-19/99)

26In this case, the sign is composed exclusively of the words ‘company’ and ‘line’, both of which are customary in English-speaking countries. The word ‘company’ suggests that what is in point are goods or services intended for companies or firms. The word ‘line’ has various meanings. In the insurance and financial services sector it denotes, amongst other things, a branch of insurance or a line or group of products. They are thus generic words which simply denote a line of goods or services for undertakings. Coupling them together without any graphic or semantic modification does not imbue them with any additional characteristic such as to render the sign, taken as a whole, capable of distinguishing the applicant's services from those of other undertakings. The fact that the word ‘Companyline’ as such does not appear in dictionaries — whether as one word or otherwise — does not in any way alter that finding.

DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-19/99)

Key facts

Connections

History · 1 version