NATURE'S PERFECT FORMULA finds right formula for registration

Following re-examination, the Latvian Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has allowed the registration of the mark NATURE'S PERFECT FORMULA filed by perfume and cosmetics manufacturer JSC Dzintars for cosmetic and perfumery in Class 3 of the Nice Classification, and wholesale services in respect of cosmetics and perfumery in Class 35.

The mark was initially refused on the grounds that it lacked distinctiveness in relation to the goods/services of interest (according to Article 6(1)(2) of the Latvian Law on Trademarks and Indications of Geographical Origin). The examiner based this finding on the fact that the words 'nature', 'formula' and 'perfect' are each commonly used to describe cosmetics and perfumes or the services related to the sale of these products. The examiner noted that:

• 'nature' could refer to natural ingredients;
  
  
• 'formula' could denote a recipe; and
  
  
• 'perfect' was simply a laudatory term.

JSC Dzintars disagreed with this opinion and called for re-examination. It argued that the mark NATURE' S PERFECT FORMULA is a fanciful combination of three English words, each bearing a number of possible meanings. For example, JSC Dzintars stated that the word 'nature' was not a reference to 'natural', but instead it was an allusion to the physical world in terms of landscape, plants and animals as distinct from man-made creations. It stated that when examining the mark, the examiner had incorrectly looked at each separate word in the mark individually, rather than the mark as a whole. When analyzed in its entirety, the mark expressed a notion that the product was as good as something from nature - a meaning which differed from that put forward by the examiner.

In addition, JSC Dzintars stated that the PTO had already allowed the registration of 3+ PERFEKTA FORMULA and 3 PLUS PERFEKTA FORMULA for similar products. It had also allowed registration of marks such as POWER OF NATURE, THE SCIENCE OF NATURE, NATURE'S CODE, NATURE LAB and NATURA for goods in Class 3.

On re-examination, the PTO upheld JSC Dzintars's arguments and, on November 23 2006, issued a decision allowing registration of the mark in the relevant classes.

Valentina Sergeyeva, Strahlberg & Partners, Riga