Apple Inc. v. Xiaomi Inc.

Apple Inc.

Case details

Plaintiff: Apple Inc.

Defendant: Xiaomi Inc.

Case no.: R0363/2016-1

Jurisdiction: European Union

Industry: Technology

Decision date: 22 Sep, 2016

Subject matter: Conceptual identityDistinctive elementDominant elementEnhanced distinctivenessIdentity of goods and servicesLikelihood of confusionPhonetic similaritySimilarity of the signsVisual similarity

Decision

There exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public between the earlier trade mark and the applicant’s mark even without taking into consideration a possible enhanced distinctiveness of the earlier mark in the context of the claimed reputation of the ‘i-products’ family of the opponent. As a result, the Opposition Division correctly stated, that EUTM No 8 817 281 leads to the success of the opposition and to the rejection of the contested mark for all the goods and services and that the trade mark application is not eligible for registration pursuant to Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR. Therefore, the decision of the Opposition Division cannot be annulled.

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