EU court confirms that blue and yellow oval is not eligible for protection as an EU trade mark in respect of fresh fruits
A European court has confirmed that Chiquita Brands’s blue and yellow oval is not eligible for protection as an EU trademark in respect of fresh fruit.
The decision refers to a 2020 application made by French company Compagnie Financière de Participation to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for a declaration that the mark was invalid, due to it being “devoid of any distinctive character”.
The trademark was declared invalid in May 2023, but only in respect of fresh fruits, including bananas. EUIPO considered that the mark was devoid of any distinctive character for those goods and that Chiquita Brands had not established that it had acquired distinctive character through use, which would have prevented its cancellation.
Chiquita Brands challenged EUIPO’s decision before the General Court of the European Union. In its judgment, the General Court dismissed the action and thus confirmed the invalidity of the mark in respect of fresh fruit.
“Neither the shape nor the blue and yellow colour scheme of the mark confers distinctive character on it. The shape of the mark corresponds to that of a simple geometric figure (a variation of an oval), with no easily and instantly memorable characteristics,” the court said.
“In addition, oval labels are commonly used in the sector of bananas, as they are easy to stick onto curved fruits. Consequently, that shape will not be capable of attracting the attention of the public or enable it to identify the commercial origin of the fresh fruits designated by the mark.”
The court clarified that its ruling did not apply to the trademark with the addition of the well-known female figure printed on it or the company name, but only the blue and yellow oval underneath. Chiquita’s symbol had been registered with the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) for several foods, including fresh fruit.
