Several shades of green not distinctive as a colour mark

The EU General Court has affirmed a Board of Appeal decision that a colour mark comprising several shades of green and the colour white was not inherently distinctive for wind energy converters and their parts. The decision is another chapter in the ongoing dispute between German applicant Enercon GmbH – which has a long history of disputes relating to colour marks – and Spanish company Gamesa Eolica SL and the EU Intellectual Property Office.