Never try to cut off a Mercedes: Mercedes-style model crashes

Mercedes is a brand whose design has been instantly recognizable for years.

With the S-Class in particular, much revolves around a distinct design language: sleek, stately, and immediately identifiable within the brand’s lineup. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that Mercedes is taking action against a design registration for a car that strongly resembles the existing Mercedes S-Class.

Mercedes argued that the registered model would not create a different overall impression on the informed user. In other words: although this model does not yet exist, it relies far too heavily on the already existing and well-known Mercedes design. Because a design must be new and have its own character, the latter condition is not met, and thus the design is invalid. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) agreed.

What would drive a party with no connection whatsoever to Mercedes to register such a model? Complete with the Mercedes logo and all? Perhaps this party was trying to cut Mercedes off at the pass by getting a head start and securing a potential design for the next S-Class. With this design in hand, Mercedes would quickly be infringing on their next model, wouldn’t they? But that fails to take into account Mercedes’ design rights and design heritage, because a new design must maintain the necessary distance.

Design registration of counterparty

Author: Arnaud Bos

Bio: Arnaud is trademark attorney and within Knijff responsible for the marketing & communication. Arnaud is specialist in the metaverse and music sectors and his client portfolio includes many upcoming and renowned bands. He keeps a close eye on the latest case law in the EU and will let you know when he sees remarkable applications.