Marques Class 46 reports about an interesting case in Germany which concerns a “BLACK FRIDAY” trademark registered by a Hing Kong company. Being the owner of this mark, the company aggressively started to enforce its rights sending cease-and-disease letters to many trade companies and retailers in the country.
This, in turn, created a serious disturbance among these companies, which had been using “BLACK FRIDAY” for promotion purposes for years.
Because of this, they initiated a cancellation proceeding before the Patent Office, claiming that “BLACK FRIDAY” is widely used and non-distinctive term.
The Patent Office concurred with them, based its conclusion on the various pieces of evidence which clearly show that “BLACK FRIDAY” had been used in Germany before the application date of the mark in promotions and advertisements. The term is perceived by German consumers as an exclusive offer for discount sales.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLANET 