ECJ RIPE STRAWBERRIES SCENT TRADEMARK CASE
December 1st, 2005
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A FRENCH leather goods and perfume company has failed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to trademark the "smell of ripe strawberries", because judges deemed this insufficiently precise. Eden SARL, of Paris, cited a case, where the ECJ had ruled non-visual signs, such as sounds or odours, could become trademarks if "they can be represented graphically", for instance a 'scratch-and-sniff' mark. However, judges said Eden's proposed graphical sign, which would have covered leather wallets, purses, bags, harnesses, clothing ...
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