General Court considers approach to dominant elements in KINDER dispute

In Excalibur City sro v EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) the EU General Court considered the correct approach to assessing the relative dominance and distinctiveness of different elements of composite marks for opposition purposes. In doing so, the court overturned the EUIPO Board of Appeal’s findings that marks containing the term ‘Merlin’s Kinderwelt’ were confusingly similar to the mark KINDER.