In its decision of August 24, 2017 (Ref.: 5W 77/14), the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg ruled that the sign “shopaholic” printed in large letters at chest height on a T-shirt is understood as a trademark. According to the Senate, it is not perceived by the target public as a self-ironic confession of a shopaholic addicted to shopping.
With this decision, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg shows that trademarks that are not yet widely used should also enjoy the same protection as trademarks that are already well known.
Trademark as an indication of origin
In order to be understood as a trademark, a sign must be attributable to a company as an indication of origin and must also be understood as such. This means that the person who sees the sign must be able to come to the conclusion that the sign can be assigned to a company. In addition, the mark must serve to distinguish the origin of a company from that of another company in the context of its product use.
T-shirt prints are predominantly seen as a brand
Basically, inscriptions on T-shirts are to be understood as so-called “brands” and therefore indicate a brand. No one would not think of the manufacturer Adidas when seeing a large Adidas logo on a T-shirt.
Exceptionally, however, there may be a lack of trademark quality. For example, if the sign is used as a mere decorative embellishment, as an (ironic or self-deprecating) fun slogan or as an avowed statement. Accordingly, use as a trademark can only be denied if the imprint is clearly not perceived as a company logo.
Classification of “shopaholic” as a trademark
However, the term “shopaholic” – a derivation of the English “workaholic” – is not so easy to classify. It could certainly be seen as a self-ironic confession of a shopaholic. However, according to the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, the term is not a word commonly used in the German language. Rather, a translation is required in order to interpret the term correctly and to understand it as a self-deprecating confession. Thus, there are doubts about the unambiguousness of a fun slogan, which means that the term is to be understood as a trade mark of origin.
According to the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, this view is also supported by the comprehensive graphic design of the print. The playful typeface – at least of the first letter – makes it difficult to read and therefore argues against the assumption of a fun slogan.
For these reasons, it was predominantly likely that many people would in any case perceive the printed sign “shopaholic” as an indication of origin.
Unknown trademarks should also be protected in the same way
With this decision, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg once again shows that trademark owners are granted a high degree of certainty in trademark law matters. Of course, “small” trademarks that are not yet used extensively because they have only just been introduced to the legal market also enjoy comprehensive protection that is in no way inferior to the protection of well-known trademarks.