Talking Point: The Onel decision

In Leno Merken BV v Hagelkruis Beheer BV (CaseC-149/11, December 19 2012) – often referred to as theONEL decision – the European Court of Justice (ECJ)found that while use of a Community trademark(CTM) in one member state could suffice to establishgenuine use in the Community, “all facts andcircumstances” should be considered. It ruled outa de minimis rule and suggested that the bar forshowing genuine use within the Community will beset somewhat higher than that for showing the samein a specific member state. In addition to the detailedanalysis on page 12, WTR asked a number of legalexperts for their reaction to the decision