Kammergericht: Black Friday trademark expired

The owner of the trademark “Black Friday” has failed in her attempt to prevent the cancellation of the disputed word mark. The “Black Friday” trademark was declared forfeited last Friday by the Berlin Superior Court, effective April 25, 2019. The Court of Appeal thus confirmed the cancellation of the trademark for all goods and services that had not already been canceled by the Federal Patent Court.

Key Facts

The owner of the "Black Friday" trademark has failed to prevent the controversial word mark from being canceled.
The Berlin Court of Appeal declared the trademark forfeited on April 25, 2019.
On April 15, 2021, the Berlin Regional Court declared the trademark for all registered goods and services to be revoked.
The court found that the trademark was not used to preserve the rights of any registered product.
The trademark owner's appeal before the Berlin Court of Appeal was unsuccessful.
On October 14, 2022, the Court of Appeal confirmed the first-instance decision.
An appeal on points of law is not permitted; the trademark owner can only file an appeal against denial of leave to appeal with the BGH.

Already on April 15, 2021, the Berlin District Court, based on our lawsuit, had declared the trademark “Black Friday” forfeited for all of the more than 900 registered goods and services. According to the court, the trademark was not used for any of the registered goods and services in a way that preserved the rights.

The trademark owner appealed against the judgment before the Berlin Appellate Court – unsuccessfully, as has now been shown. By judgment of October 14, 2022, the decision of the first instance was upheld by the Kammergericht for all goods and services still registered after the decision of the Federal Patent Court. The appeal is not admitted. This leaves the trademark owner with no choice but to file a complaint of non-admission with the BGH.

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.