Good faith or bad faith (within the meaning of Regulation 207/2009) must be the subject of an overall assessment, taking account of all the relevant factual circumstances, as analysed by the General Court of the European Union.
It shall first be taken into account whether the person seeking to register his European trademark knows or ought to know that someone else is already using an identical or similar sign for identical or similar goods or services.
The General Court of the European Union has analysed the concept of good faith as understood in the European Trade Mark Regulation 207/2009.
According to the General Court, good faith or bad faith must be the subject of an overall assessment, taking into account all the factual circumstances relevant to the particular case
The Court has established several main issues which must nevertheless be taken into account when determining whether or not the trademark applicant was acting in good faith.
First, consideration must be given to whether the applicant knows or ought to know that someone else in a Member State is already using an identical or similar sign for identical or similar goods or services, thereby running the risk of confusion.
Secondly, the applicant’s intention to prevent that third party from using the similar sign further should be taken into account.
Thirdly, the level of legal protection enjoyed by the third party’s sign and the sign for which registration is sought must be analysed.
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