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"LOVE THAT CHICKEN" is registrable as trademark
Trademark "LOVE THAT CHICKEN" Application No. 111053127 is provisionally refused by Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (IPO) for the reason that "LOVE THAT CHICKEN" is more like a marketing slogan of the designated services which is incapable of making the relevant consumers recognize it as a sign identifying the source of the designated services in Class 43 and lacks distinctiveness to be registered as a trademark. Consequently, the mark is not registrable according to Taiwan Trademark Act. After filing defense based on the following grounds, the applicant successfully obtains registration for "LOVE THAT CHICKEN":
I. Though a sign which lacks of distinctiveness is not registrable as a trademark, according to the Examination Guidelines on Distinctiveness of Trademarks enacted, the distinctiveness of a trademark relates to how it denotes the source of goods or services and distinguishes such goods or services from those of others. To determine whether a trademark is distinctive or not must be made based on the relationship between the trademark and the designated goods or services, rather than on the trademark alone.
The mark "LOVE THAT CHICKEN" does not signify the quality, characteristics or other descriptions of the designated services "restaurant services, restaurant carryout and delivery services, restaurant catering services". It is not descriptive to the designated services and is capable of making the relevant consumers recognize it as a sign identifying the source of the services; thus is qualified to be registered as a trademark inherently.
II. Moreover, according to the Examination Guidelines on Distinctiveness of Trademarks, trademark certificates showing that the trademark has been registered in other countries may serve as reference, especially in case of a trademark in a foreign language, as this can help evaluate how native speakers of that language perceive the distinctiveness of the trademark in respect of the designated goods or services and determine whether the word(s) is/are descriptive of the goods or services.
Given that distinctiveness is a fundamental requirement for trademark registration in most jurisdictions around the world and the mark "LOVE THAT CHICKEN" has obtained trademark registration/approval in 22 jurisdictions including English-speaking countries like US, AU, New Zealand and PH without non-distinctive issue ever raised. Obviously, all said foreign trademark authorities think "LOVE THAT CHICKEN" is distinctive to be a trademark to distinguish the applicant's services/goods from others.
III. After considering the above arguments, the IPO agrees that the mark "LOVE THAT CHICKEN" is of inherent distinctiveness and grants the registration thereto.