EU court: No protection for "I love" design on clothing

The online company Spreadshirt cannot have the well-known sign combination of "I" and a red heart protected as an EU trademark in certain places on tops. The General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg thus confirmed decisions by the EU trade mark office EUIPO and dismissed an action brought by the Leipzig-based company against them. (Cases T-304/24 to T-306/24)

EU Trade Mark Office had refused registration

Spreadshirt had applied to register three so-called position marks - the "I" with a heart symbol on the left chest area, on the inside label and on the outside of the neck area of garments. The EU Trade Mark Office had refused the registration because the signs lacked the necessary distinctive character.

In the opinion of the Office, consumers do not perceive the symbols as trademarks of a specific company, regardless of their position. The sign is immediately understood as "I love" or "I love".

The EU Court has now confirmed this assessment. The judges said of the sign: "Even if it is claimed for certain precise positions, it is not capable of distinguishing the goods in question from those of other companies".

In 2021, Spreadshirt had already failed in court to register the "I love" symbol as a trademark - at that time without a specific position. The EU court had also declared the registration null and void because the symbol only consisted of the well-known combination of signs and was not sufficiently distinctive.