American Airlines have been successful in its defence against trademark opposition brought by French footwear company Aigle International at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).
The UKIPO rejected the opposition to the trademark from Aigle International after American Airlines applied in 2017 to register a mark for their logo covering class 25 for clothing and footwear.
In their opposition, the French footwear company cited an EU trademark for its own design in classes, 9, 18 and 25 that were registered in 2016 (number 15713761).
They argued that both marks contained the silhouette of an eagle flying from left to right as their dominant component, meaning there was an increased likelihood of confusion.
However, the UKIPO disagreed with their claims, siding with American Airlines’ argument that there was very little in its mark to give the average consumer the impression that it was, in fact, resembling an eagle.
The UKIPO also found that the visual similarities between the marks, was low, with the American Airlines logo having a different look and feel to Aigle’s.
During the hearing, they asked Aigle to back up their claims that their mark had acquired distinctiveness, but felt that the French company’s annual sales of 89,000 units in 2017 failed to substantiate their comments.
The office found “no reason why the average consumer would believe that the goods sold under the respective marks come from the same or economically linked undertakings”.
Aigle International was ordered to pay costs of £1900 to American Airlines, whose mark will now proceed to registration.
An American Airlines spokesperson said that the company was pleased with the decision.
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