ROMANIA
decision did not mention any comparison between the lists of goods of the marks in conflict, and limited itself only to the analysis of the signs.
The opponent lodged an appeal with OSIM’s Board of Appeal, arguing the following:
• According to the law, OSIM must analyse all three components: the signs, the products and the risk of confusion, whereas the previous decision was based on the analysis of only two elements;
• The list of goods of the marks in conflict is identical;
• The word part of the signs presents a large degree of similarity. In this case, the opponent brings teaching from the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) manual in respect to oppositions, namely “when the signs consist of verbal and device elements, the principle established is that the word element is predominant for consumers. This happens because the public does not have the tendency to compare the signs but rather to refer to the word component of the signs”; and
• The assessment of the risk of confusion must include all relevant elements, for example: the probability that all products would be sold in the same shop and on the same shelf; the fact that both companies deal almost exclusively with the manufacture and sale of soft drinks; and the large number of varieties of soft drinks branded ‘Amita’ (29), which could lead consumers to believe that Avita could be one of them.
T e decision delivered by OSIM’s Board of Appeal in April 2012 was completely in favour of CCHBC. It rejected the junior mark for all the goods. In coming to its decision, the board off ered the following rationale:
• Analysis of the signs shows a very high degree of similarity at the phonetic level; on the other hand the differences at the
www.worldipreview.com World Intellectual Property Review e-Digest 2013 95
IF THE APPLICANT DOES NOT PAY, THE MARK REMAINS IN AN UNCERTAIN STATUS. IT IS NOT REGISTERED BECAUSE ALL FORMALITIES ARE NOT COMPLETED, NOR IS IT ‘IN APPLICATION’.
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