"I Love" does not constitute a valid trademark in relation to clothing

This material was first published by Thomson Reuters, trading as Sweet & Maxwell, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ, in Entertainment Law Review – (2025) 36 Ent. L.R. Issue 8, and is reproduced by agreement with the publishers. For further details, please see the publishers' website.

The EU General Court has issued a decision on an appeal from a EUIPO Board of Appeal decision, confirming that the figurative sign ‘I LOVE (heart-shape)’ is not distinctive in relation to “clothing” in class 25 and a position mark will not confer distinctive character to a sign devoid of such a character.

This article reviews the Court’s assessment and highlights the main principles.

You can read it in full below: