GLAMOUR fends off potentially confusing mark in Argentina

In Vi Da Producciones SA v Advanced Magazine Publishers Inc (Court Files 432/07 and 4392/09, May 13 2014), the Civil and Commercial Federal Court of Appeals, Argentina, refused an application to register the words TENDENCIA GLAMOUR DISEÑO VANGUARDIA as a trade mark in Nice Classes 16, 35, 38 and 41, following an opposition by Advanced Magazine Publishers Inc, the owner of the registered trade mark GLAMOUR.

Said the court, the two marks shared the word ‘glamour’ -- but the addition of  the words ‘tendencia’, ‘diseño’ and ‘vanguardia’ did not confer distinctiveness on Vi Da's mark. It was recognised that, in the fashion and beauty sectors, products are usually identified with terms that are apparently “weak”, but which -- when used in these sectors -- may gain strength and recognition. This was the case with GLAMOUR, which was a well-known trade mark in the fashion and publication sectors. Accordingly, TENDENCIA GLAMOUR DISEÑO VANGUARDIA would evoke the magazine owned by the owner of the earlier mark and would mislead consumers into believing that it had started to publish another fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazine. Registration of the mark applied for would thus lead to confusion regarding the source of the publication.

Source: "Advanced Magazine Publishers prevents registration of mark containing 'glamour'" by Fernando Noetinger (Noetinger & Armando, Buenos Aires), written for World Trademark Review, 3 July 2014