A hearing officer of the UK Intellectual Property Office has rejected an application by Target Brands Inc., the US retailer, for declarations of invalidity in respect of two figurative trade marks owned by Music Choice Limited, comprising the words MUSIC CHOICE and a bulls-eye device. Target failed in its argument that Music Choice had no bona fide intention of using the marks on all the goods and services in its specifications, so that they must therefore be invalid under section 3(6) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA), dealing with bad faith: the hearing officer found that the specifications had been carefully selected to include areas, such as merchandising, which might reasonably interest Music Choice in the future. Although Target had been using its bulls-eye device in the US since 1968, it failed to show that it had a sufficient reputation in the UK to meet the high threshold in section 5(3) of the TMA (dealing with dilution), so this ground of invalidity also failed. The decision will create difficulties for Target if it wishes to extend its US brand into the UK, and Music Choice is reported to be contesting similar challenges to its trade marks in other European countries.
Source: IPO and Practical Law.
Source: IPO and Practical Law.
