BLENDS: A Sign with Sufficient Distinctiveness

Division II of the Federal Court of Appeals on Civil and Commercial Matters upheld the first instance ruling that had overturned the decision of the Argentine Trademark Office denying registration of the composite trademark BLENDS, filed by Philip Morris Products SA, to distinguish goods in Class 34.

The TMO had rejected the application on the grounds that the term “blends” described a characteristic of certain goods in class 34, particularly those consisting of a combination of different types of tobacco.

In its analysis, the Court recalled the distinction between descriptive terms, which constitute the necessary or usual designation of what they describe, and evocative terms, which evoke or suggest a characteristic or function of the relevant product or service with a certain degree of distinctiveness.

Accordingly, the Court found that BLENDS is highly evocative in relation to certain goods covered by class 34 but does not constitute the normal or usual designation of the product itself.

The Court also took into account the foreign origin of the word and the particular design of the trademark application and concluded that, considered as a whole, it had sufficient distinctive character to qualify for registration.

Lastly, the Court noted that its evocative nature makes the sign a weak trademark and that its registration does not prevent third parties from using the term together with other distinctive elements.

Based on these considerations, the Court dismissed the TMO’s appeal against the first instance ruling and confirmed the registrability of the composite trademark BLENDS.