Using an Emotion Word as a Product Name Does Not Establish Distinctive Character

Using an Emotion Word as a Product Name Does Not Establish Distinctive Character

Journal article

1 electronic resource (page 471–477)

Extract Act against Unfair Competition, Sec. 4 No. 3 lit. a ‒ Glück [Happiness] Official headnotes (translated from the German by Allison Felmy) 1. The concept of using an emotion word as the name of a product cannot be considered as an element that helps to determine a product’s distinct competitive character. The object of the protection against imitation under Sec. 4 No. 3 of the Act against Unfair Competition is to protect goods and services in their concrete design, not the abstract idea behind them. 2. Even if the design of the packaging of everyday products clearly stands out from the market surroundings, it is not ruled out that the public will also be guided by the product and manufacturer information on the packaging, and thus deception as to the commercial origin of an imitation product can be ruled out (continuation of Federal Supreme Court, decision of 19 October 2000 – I ZR 225/98, GRUR 2001, 443 = WRP 2001, 534 – Viennetta).

Crossref

GRUR International ; 74, 5, 2025, 2632-8550.

[Oxford, England] : Oxford University Press (OUP), 2025.

English

https://academic.oup.com/grurint/article/72/3/231/6998505

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