Judgment_paragraph 64 · L'Oréal SA v European Union Intellectual Property Office (T-112/03)

64On the visual level, the Board of Appeal took the view that the sign FLEXI AIR consists essentially of the word ‘flex’. In addition, being placed at the beginning, the element ‘flex’ is likely to have a greater impact than the rest of the sign applied for. The word ‘air’ is in the secondary position and is shorter. Consumers generally take more note of a mark's beginning than of its ending. The dominant character of the element ‘flex’ is not substantially altered by the addition of the letter ‘i’. The Board of Appeal therefore concluded that the signs are visually similar.