Leno Merken BV v. Hagelkruis Beheer BV
European Union Court of Justice
Case C-149/11 (2012)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Hagelkruis Beheer BV (Hagelkruis) (defendant) applied to register the word “OMEL” as a trademark in the Netherlands, a European Union (EU) member state. Leno Merken BV (Leno) (plaintiff), which held a trademark in the word “ONEL,” filed an objection, arguing that the similarity between the words was likely to cause confusion. The Dutch intellectual-property office rejected the objection on the ground that Leno had failed to put the ONEL trademark to genuine use in the European Union. Leno appealed, arguing that the ONEL trademark had been put to use in the Netherlands. The court of appeals stayed proceedings and referred the matter to the European Union Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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