On June 3, 2022, Daimler Truck, the German truck manufacturer, filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to register the word mark “TRUCKS YOU CAN TRUST” as a Community word trademark. The scope of the application included goods and services, such as vehicle financing, motor vehicles, games, and leasing. In essence, the applied mark directly translates to “trucks you can trust,” which has the character of a typical advertising slogan.
As it turned out, the EUIPO did not recognize the enthusiasm of the applicant or the unique character of the submitted text, and partially rejected the registration, i.e., to the extent that the registered trademark directly relates to vehicles. The legal basis was Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation 2017/1001 on the European Union trademark, which refers to the lack of distinctive character of the trademark in question.
Despite the appeal, the EUIPO Board of Appeal, in its decision, dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the trademark in question is understood, for the goods and services in question, as an advertising slogan that lacks distinctive character for the relevant public and for the English-speaking specialist public in the European Union. Furthermore, the contested mark will be perceived as indicating “trustworthy trucks” and as directly and immediately highlighting the positive characteristics of the goods and services in question, without requiring interpretation by the relevant public.
Daimler Truck disagreed with the decision and appealed to the Court of the European Union. The justification stated that the submitted trademark is not devoid of distinctive character, as the phrase it contains is not obvious due to the specific combination of words, and when presented in English, it is not entirely understandable to residents of the European Union.
EUIPO maintained its position that the trademark lacks distinctive character, arguing that it is nothing more than an advertising slogan.
The Court of the European Union, in considering the appeal, reiterated that in order to obtain protection for any trademark, there must be strict legal requirements, including, among other things, that the trademark must be sufficiently distinctive, allowing for the unambiguous identification of a specific product or service with a specific entity, which also distinguishes it from other products and services of competing companies.
In the case at hand, these conditions were not met in relation to the trademark in question, “TRUCKS YOU CAN TRUST.” The Court pointed out that the aforementioned designation does not even possess a partial or minimal distinctive character, which disqualifies it as a trademark. First and foremost, the slogan is aimed at the automotive industry, specifically the transport and logistics segment. It was emphasized that Daimler Truck vehicles are not purchased by average consumers in the automotive industry, but by entities with specific requirements and larger companies (which is consistent with the claims of the EUIPO Board of Appeal). Furthermore, it is necessary to rely on the perception of English-speaking consumers, as the elements to which the trademark application relates consist of English words. In the translation of the trademark in question, the designation refers to trustworthy trucks, and therefore focuses on the positive connotation of the goods and vehicles designated in this way.
At this point, the court noted that even the clever combination of the words “truck” and “trust” and their visual and phonetic similarity is not a sufficient basis for granting protection, as there is still a lack of sufficiently unique or intellectually stimulating meaning in the designation. The trademark, consisting of the English phrase “trucks you can trust,” does not have an ambiguous or vague meaning and is directly understandable to the relevant group of English-speaking consumers, whether it refers to trucks as such or to other goods and services under consideration.
In this respect, it must therefore be concluded that the designation in question will be perceived by the relevant group of consumers solely as an advertising slogan, and not as an indication of the commercial origin of specific goods and services.
Accordingly, by its judgment of April 24, 2024, the Court of the European Union dismissed the appeal of Daimler Truck (case no. T-548/23).
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