Stradivarius Espana v OHIM - illegible marks: you might not understand them, but they are not confusing!

On 20 June 2001, Cristina Ricci's predecessor in title applied to register the device mark "Stradivari 1715" (the opposed mark) as a Community Trade Mark for goods in classes 14, 16 and 18 (jewellery made of precious metals, articles made of paper, and leather articles).  Her predecessor's application was opposed by Stradivarius Espana on the grounds that it was a similar mark, registered for similar or identical goods, to its mark "Stradivarius" (the prior mark, registered for jewellery made of precious metals under class 14 and articles made of paper under class 16). As such, it was likely to cause confusion.

The application was dismissed, as was an appeal from it, on the grounds that the marks were not similar primarily due to the illegibility of the opposed mark. For more on this, read Wragge & Co's expert analysis.