ALLROAD makes inroads into Latvia

An examiner at the Latvian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has overturned a decision to provisionally refuse registration of the mark ALLROAD for goods in Class 12 of the Nice Classification (Registration 791252).

The PTO provisionally rejected the ALLROAD registration, which was filed by Automobili Lamborghini Holding Sps (part of AUDI AG Group), on the grounds that it was descriptive of goods in Class 12, and especially motor vehicles that can be used on all kinds of roads and road surfaces.

Lamborghini appealed the decision, arguing that the PTO should have taken into consideration the fact that the mark is an invented composite word. It also stated that:

• the mark has already been registered in the United States and as a Community trademark in the European Union, where English is an official and/or widely spoken language;
  
  
• English is not an official language in Latvia, meaning that ALLROAD is not obviously descriptive to most Latvian consumers; and
  
  
• there are many other possible terms and phrases available to competitors wishing to assert that their vehicles can be used on any road or road surface.

An examiner at the PTO accepted Lamborghini's arguments and cancelled the provisional refusal, thereby allowing registration in respect of goods in Class 12. This decision may prove to be a useful precedent for parties wishing to register as trademarks invented terms featuring English words.

Valentina Sergeyeva, Strahlberg & Partners, Riga (with the assistance of Agency 'INTELS' of Latvia)