Federal Patent Court does not delete trademark “Black Friday” completely!

The Federal Patent Court has ruled that the disputed word mark “Black Friday” must be cancelled for some services in the field of “advertising”. However, this remains in place for other services.

Key Facts

The Federal Patent Court has canceled the word mark "Black Friday" for certain advertising services.
The decision confirms the initial assessment from the hearing on September 26, 2019.
The trademark "Black Friday" is not protectable for advertising.
The services concerned include marketing, organization and implementation of promotional events.
The appeal on points of law was admitted; the deadline is one month.
Despite the cancellation, the trademark remains valid for many goods and services.
A further process for deletion due to non-use has already been initiated.

The court thus confirmed its initial assessment from the oral hearing on September 26, 2019, according to which the comprehensive cancellation of the trademark by the German Patent and Trademark Office should be revoked, but confirmed for some crucial advertising services.

Thus, the Federal Patent Court considers the trademark “Black Friday” for the service “advertising” not eligible for protection. Among other things, the trademark would have to be cancelled for the services “marketing”, “organization and implementation of advertising events”, “planning of advertising measures”, “dissemination of advertisements” and “advertising on the Internet for third parties”, as well as a large number of other services related to advertising.

The Federal Patent Court has allowed the appeal on points of law. Accordingly, the parties involved may file an appeal with the Federal Court of Justice within one month of service of the order.

However, since the “Black Friday” trademark will remain in use for many goods and services even after the decision of the Federal Patent Court and could thus continue to cause confusion among existing and potential partners, the risk of warning letters has not been banished. However, further legal proceedings are pending, as an action for cancellation of the trademark on grounds of revocation for non-use was filed with the Berlin Regional Court in November 2019. According to § 49 para. 1 MarkenG, a trademark must be put to genuine use after its registration for each individual product or service protected. If this does not happen, the unused goods and services can be deleted upon request. It is not sufficient for a right-preserving use that the term “Black Friday” is somehow used. Rather, the term must be used in such a way that it is to be evaluated as an indication of the goods or services from a very specific company.

By the way, this is a fact that I always point out to inexperienced trademark applicants!

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.