General Court confirms refusal of position mark consisting of two parallel stripes on pants

In Shoe Branding Europe BVBA v OHIM, the General Court has upheld a decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of OHIM refusing to register a position mark consisting of “two parallel slanted stripes of equal width positioned on the lower part of panel pants”. Among other things, the court found that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the average consumer would regard the sign as an indication of the origin of the goods and not as a mere decoration.