Trademark Re-filings Deemed Bad Faith By The EU In MONOPOLY Case

• Published date: 07 December 2021
• Law Firm: aera
• Author: Philippe Benjamin Skow and Monika Colak

In landmark "MONOPOLY" case, EU vetoes re-filings of trademarks to prevent circumvention of the proof of use requirement.

SUMMARY

Hasbro, the American toys and board games conglomerate, famous for its board game MONOPOLY, has recently lost a landmark EU case. A decision by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) was upheld, leaving Hasbro's EU trademark for "MONOPOLY" partially invalidated on the grounds of bad faith. The ruling is a major development concerning bad faith within trademark law.

THE EU LAW IN QUESTION

Within trademark law, an owner of a trademark must be able to prove that he or she has actually used the trademark within a certain period of years. If this cannot be proved, the owner may risk having the trademark invalidated. If the owner has re-registered a trademark in bad faith, the registration may get invalidated.

THE CASE

In 2011, Hasbro registered an EU trademark for the word "MONOPOLY". Years before, Hasbro...