The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has decided to re-examine the application for registration of the European trademark proposed by Chapter 4 for the trademark “Supreme” for clothing, accessories, retail and online sale (classes 13, 25 and 35 of the Nice Classification). The Office’s decision was based on the observations of a third party.

Specifically, in the review procedure, the Supreme mark was assessed as descriptive, as the relevant consumers would perceive the sign as containing information that the goods and services for which Chapter 4 applied (handbags, clothing, retail services for clothing etc.) are of the highest quality. Consequently, according to EUIPO, consumers would be misled by that sign by giving it the ability to provide information on the very quality of the goods and services in question, which, in fact, bear the ‘Supreme’ mark.

Furthermore, the Office has argued that since the mark has a clear descriptive character, it is itself devoid of any distinctive character and thus unable to fulfil the essential function of the mark (i.e. to distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others) within the meaning of Article 7(1)(b) of the RMUE. In the opinion of the EUIPO, the sign in question is perceived by the relevant public merely as a laudatory promotional message capable of indicating the characteristics of the goods and services bearing it, highlighting its positive aspects, without any indication as to their commercial origin. EUIPO then goes so far as to state that although the sign for which Chapter 4 requested protection contains some elements which give it a certain degree of stylisation (consisting of fairly common and perfectly legible white characters, on a rectangular red background), the nature of those elements is so negligible that they do not give the mark as a whole any distinctive character.

By communication of 25 April 2018, EUIPO therefore refused the application for registration of the European trade mark filed by Chapter 4 of the Supreme trade mark, declaring it inadmissible and stating the reasons for its rejection on the basis of Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Article 7(2) of the RMUE. Chapter 4, however, may present any observations on the objections raised by EUIPO within a period of two months from the notification of the communication of 25 April 2018; if any observations are not made within that period, the request will be rejected.