Abercrombie & Fitch, the famous American clothing brand, has a moose in its logo. This moose is also registered as a three-dimensional mark (see left picture). Quite useful, as Abercrombie & Fitch faced another European application of a Moose for clothing.
Two logos with a moose. This gives a conceptual similarity. But this similarity does not automatically result in a similar overall impression. The OHIM will also assess the visual similarity (and aural similarity is of course not possible with two figurative logos). According to the OHIM the trademarks are visual to a low degree, especially the unusual blue colour creates distance.
So, on the one hand there is a conceptual similarity, on the other hand the visual similarity is not directly given. Although there is no fixed hierarchy among the aspects (visual, aural and conceptual) we know from case law that a sole conceptual similarity will hardly suffice in most cases. And that is precisely what the OHIM thinks when assessing the trademarks: despite of the conceptual similarity, the visual differences are significant and prevent risk of confusion.
