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Sep 27, 2016
Dr. Ulrike Gruebler, DLA Piper, Germany
Gaspard Debiesse, DLA Piper, France
First published on www.lexology.com

Deletion of the "graphic representation" requirement fo...


Dr. Ulrike Gruebler, DLA Piper, Germany, Gaspard Debiesse, DLA Piper, France, First published on www.lexology.comTo stay ahead of the competition, players of the fashion industry have a permanent need to renew their communication strategies, including the use of new technologies and media. "Sensory marketing", the art of playing on the various senses of the customers (sound, smell, taste, touch, in addition, or in lieu of, vision), has lately become an important trend. Retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch use their customers' senses as a communication tool: the same fragrance is diffused in every stores worldwide, so customers instantly associate this scent to the products sold inside the stores.
The Community trademark system and the national trademark systems of the majority of the EU member states have been reluctant to register so-called unconventional trademarks, notably on the ground that marks must be capable of being "graphically represented". In 2003, the Paris Court of Appeals rejected a trademark application for the taste of "artificial strawberry aroma". In 2012, the French Supreme Court invalidated a Louboutin red sole registration notably because neither  read more