NIPC Law

S.1 (1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 , which implements art 2 of Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks, defines a trade mark as "any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings."  If you are new to trade mark law or wish to be refreshed on the basics take a decko at "Introduction to Trade Marks"  in our IP South East blog of 9 Oct 2013. As I mentioned in "The Colour Purple - Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A. v Cadbury UK Ltd ."  4 Oct 2013 the above words have been considered by the Court of Justice of the European Union in  Case C-104/01, Libertel Groep BV and Benelux-Merkenbureau [2004] Ch 83, [2004] 2 WLR 1081, [2003] EUECJ C-104/01, Case C-273/00 Sieckmann v. Deutsche Patent –und Markenamnt [2002] ECR 1-1175

"The Color Purple" is a novel by Alice Walker  which won its author the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction  in 1983. if you have not read the book here is Wikipedia's summary of the plot .  It is a great book with a great story. The colour purple (or rather pantone 2685C) is only slightly less gripping. It is the subject of a tussle between two of the world's largest confectionery companies the latest stage of which has just ended in the Court of Appeal (   Société Des Produits Nestlé S.A. v Cadbury UK Ltd .  [2013] EWCA Civ 1174 (4 Oct 2013)). It started on 15 Oct 2004 when Cadbury Limited ( “Cadbury” ) applied to register "the colour purple (Pantone 2685C), as shown on the form of application, applied to the whole visible surface, or being the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface, of the packaging of the goods" as a trade mark for the following goods: " Class 30 : Chocolate in bar and tablet form, chocolate confect