General Court (Fourth Chamber) 14 July 2005, T-126/03 (Reckitt Benckiser (España), SL v European Union Intellectual Property Office.)

Also known as

The Court of First Instance annulled a Board of Appeal decision, ruling that proof of genuine use for a specific product within a narrowly defined sub-category (polish for metals) preserves protection for the entire sub-category under Article 43(2) of Regulation No 40/94. The Court further held that a likelihood of confusion exists under Article 8(1)(b) between the marks ALADIN and ALADDIN because the high degree of similarity between the signs and the inherent distinctiveness of the earlier mark offset the partial similarity of the specialized metal-working goods. Consequently, the relevant professional public might perceive the products as belonging to a single family of goods with a common commercial origin.AI