EU PERSPECTIVE OF GENUINE USE-STIMULATING DECISION FOR TURKISH PRACTITIONERS

• The case T-768/20 (Standard International
  Management LLC v EUIPO) in which General Court has decided upon the fact that brand owners which render their services abroad/outside the jurisdiction of EU whilst their brands were registered in EU could maintain their EU trademarks to protect and enforce their rights provided that the advertising and promotion materials were targeted at EU consumers.
• Thus, even though the brand is not used in EU jurisdiction for the cited goods and services where the mark has been registered while its advertising and promotion is aimed at EU consumers then it is deemed to be genuinely used in EU.
• As a matter of fact, the General Court made a clear distinction between the location of hotel services operation and the location of use of the mark in advertising and promotion. In view of determining whether the trademark was of genuine use in the EU, the Court stated that only the location of use of the mark is relevant as backed-up by the EUIPO examination guidelines which state: “where the goods or services are available abroad, such as holiday accommodation or particular products, advertising alone may be sufficient to amount to genuine use”.

You may find the General Court’s decision via
https://lnkd.in/ddRATvdr