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The Trademarks Opposition Board recently rendered its decision in an opposition filed by Gurok Turizm Ve Madencilik Anonim Sirketi (Gurok) against Louis Vuitton’s two Canadian trademark applications for its logo designs. One application was for the interlocking letters “L” and “V”, while the other application was for the interlocking letters “L” and “V” within a floral pattern.
Gurok owned registrations for the trademarks Lav and Làv and had previously brought similar proceedings against Louis Vuitton in Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Ukraine, and Qatar but had lost in those jurisdictions. Notably, the Board did not place any weight on those rulings.
Louis Vuitton argued that its logo designs were well-known, citing a Wikipedia page for ‘Monogram’, which depicted a photo of one of Louis Vuitton’s logo designs on a storefront. However, the Board ruled that this was not sufficient evidence that the logo designs were known in Canada
The Board found that Louis Vuitton’s logo designs were inherently distinctive due to its unique stylization of its letters and the harmonious balance and distinguishable silhouette resulting from the letters’ interlocking configuration. The Board also found that the trademark with the floral pattern was especially distinctive due to the combination of the interlocking letters and the repeated floral pattern.
When assessing the resemblance between Gurok’s marks and Louis Vuitton’s logo designs, the Board held that the dominant element of Gurok’s marks was the term “Lav” or “Làv”, and this was different from the dominant element of Louis Vuitton’s logo designs, which was the interlocking letters or the interlocking letters with the floral pattern. The Board also noted that the trademarks were phonetically different. Lav (or Làv) is pronounced læv, whereas LV is pronounced L-V (el-vee) in English or V-L (vee-el) in French.
Ultimately, the Board rejected the opposition, ruling that there was no likelihood of confusion between Gurok’s marks and Louis Vuitton’s logo designs.
The full decision may be found here.
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