Crunching Into Intellectual Property: Biscuits As Trade Mark?

Inventa is a leading Intellectual Property Law Firm, specialized in the protection and internationalization of trademarks, patents, industrial designs, copyright and domain names. With over 50 years of experience in Portugal, the European Union and all the African jurisdictions, Inventa has served thousands of clients holding large trademark and patent portfolios, and other entities dealing with R&D daily. Furthermore, our experience allows us to understand the caveats of the different industries since we maintain relationships with clients from different sectors, including food and beverages companies, communications, IT, pharmaceuticals, manufacturers, oil & gas companies, financial institutions, business services companies and more. Our headquarters are based in Lisbon, Portugal, and we also have offices in Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Sao Tome, East Timor and Macao.

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Submitted by Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. in July 2022, the request for protection of a three-dimensional sign representing a biscuit was recently denied.

Portugal Intellectual Property

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Submitted by Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. in July 2022, the request for protection of a three-dimensional sign representing a biscuit - a "flat, round biscuit, on the front of which 144 squares with their protuberances or reliefs are represented in parallel and equidistant, surrounded by a thicker border with 33 oval rings, creating, as a whole, a characteristic and distinctive shape" - was recently denied.

Vítor Palmela Fidalgo's analysis explores key aspects of the Lisbon Court of Appeals' examination of trademark protection for this case. It specifically addresses considerations related to distinctiveness, notoriety, aesthetic functionality, and substantial value, shedding light on uncertainties in the field of trademark law.

Read the full article on Global Legal Group.

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