VOGUE mark partially invalidated

The Polish Patent Office has partially invalidated Advance Magazine Publishers Inc's trademark VOGUE (Case 332/07, September 18 2008).

Mariusz Lipski is a Polish entrepreneur who carries out his activities under the trade name Vogue. Lipski filed an action for the invalidation of the trademark VOGUE (Registration 68616) for goods in Class 18 ("leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials") and in Class 25 ("clothing including footwear, elastic sides and slippers") of the Nice Classification. Lipski argued that he had a legitimate interest in bringing the action as he had been charged over his use of the VOGUE mark in criminal proceedings. Moreover, he relied on the freedom of economic activity, as provided by the Constitution.

After filing the invalidation action, Lipski also applied for the registration of the trademark VOGUE for goods in Class 25, including "clothing for gymnastics, waterproof clothing, imitations of leather, garments, slippers, football boots, beach shoes, jackets and coats".

Advance Magazine claimed that the VOGUE mark was used for goods in Classes 18 and 25 in Poland, as it published a fashion magazine which related to these goods. However, Advance Magazine acknowledged the fact that Vogue magazine was not published in Polish.

The Patent Office held that the VOGUE mark should be partially invalidated. The office concluded that the publishing of a fashion magazine did not provide evidence of use of the mark for goods such as clothing and shoes. In order to demonstrate such use, Advance Magazine had to prove that the mark had been placed on the relevant goods and that the goods had been introduced onto the Polish market.

Tomasz Rychlicki, Patpol - Patent & Trademark Attorneys, Warsaw