Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A’s Application
Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market First Board of Appeal
Case R 772/2001-1, [2005] E.T.M.R. 43 (2003)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. (Lamborghini) (plaintiff) tried to register a trademark relating to its car-door design with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Lamborghini’s car doors opened vertically upwards on a swiveling axis. The trademark examiner rejected the application, asserting that although the proposed mark might be distinctive in the mass-produced-car market, in which car doors typically opened horizontally, vertically opening doors were common in the luxury-car market in which Lamborghini participated, and thus the mark was devoid of any of the distinctive character required for trademark protection. Lamborghini appealed, asking that the mark be registered based on what it argued was the distinctive movement associated with the doors opening upwards.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
What to do next…
Here's why 834,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
