THE WHAT? Japan’s Patent Office has delivered its verdict in a case bought by L’Oréal against an attempt to register the word mark Noreal, according to a report published by the World Trademark review. The Japanese authority found against L’Oréal, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove that L’Oréal was highly recognised as a source indicator.
THE DETAILS The Noreal mark was filed with the JPO by an individual on May 20, 2021 for use on cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, perfumes, fragrances and other goods in Class 3. The JPO granted protection on January 7, 2022 and the mark was published for post-grant opposition on March 9, 2022. L’Oréal filed an opposition the following day, arguing the similarities in appearance and sound would cause confusion.
THE WHY? The JPO decided that the difference between the letters ‘N’ and ‘L’ played a significant distinguishing difference and were therefore dissimilar from a visual, aural and conceptual viewpoint.
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