Sanrio Co. Ltd v. EUIPO (Miroglio Fashion intervening)
Sanrio tried to register the EU word mark "SANRIO CHARACTERS." The Italian fashion house Miroglio opposed on its earlier mark "CARACTÈRE," and the Board mostly agreed. The General Court trimmed the refusal but left it largely intact.
The record
- Court
- General Court of the European Union (Second Chamber)
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Docket No.
- Case T-43/22
- Filed
- 2022
- Resolved
- 2022
- Sanrio’s role
- Applicant
- Type
- Trademark
- Claims
- Art. 8(1)(b) EUTMR — likelihood of confusion
- Counsel — plaintiff/petitioner
- V. Schmitz-Fohrmann (counsel for Sanrio)
- Counsel — Sanrio side
- EUIPO (institutional)
What happened
Sanrio tried to register the EU word mark "SANRIO CHARACTERS." The Italian fashion house Miroglio opposed on its earlier mark "CARACTÈRE," and the Board mostly agreed. The General Court trimmed the refusal but left it largely intact.
Outcome
Judgment 21 Dec 2022: partial annulment. The refusal stood for core fashion classes (14/18/24/25) but was annulled for some Class 35 retail services and niche Class 9 goods. Each party bore its own costs.
The legal nuance
A reminder that even Sanrio’s own house mark can be blocked on relative grounds in the crowded EU fashion space. Here Sanrio is the applicant, not the enforcer.
Sources of record