Nacho Cano wins the legal battle to use 'Ibiza' as a trademark

PalmaThe European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has rejected the demand from the Consell d'Eivissa to annul the trademarks 'Ibiza Paradise' and 'Ibiza Paradise by Nacho Cano' associated with the musical by the ex-member of Mecano in cinemas in Madrid.

The body has dismissed the two appeals from the island institution, which will have to pay 900 euros in costs. The island institution alleged that the denominations 'Ibiza Paradise by Nacho Cano' and 'Ibiza Paradise', without including distinctive graphic elements and logos, conveyed the message that the services under this denomination are offered by Nacho Cano on the island and that it used the fame of Ibiza for advertising.

The Euipo believes, however, that the relationship between the elements that form the mark is unclear for the public to identify, without additional mental effort, that the services are provided in a paradisiacal environment on the island of Ibiza or that they refer to an experience on the island. "This combination of words does not convey a clear message to consumers about what type of connection could exist between the words that form the disputed mark and, therefore, they cannot, without further reflection, imagine that a paradisiacal experience is produced in Ibiza just by perceiving the European Union trademark," say the resolutions of the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

According to the body's opinion, the combination of these words can, in any case, evoke the services in question, but with the aim of arousing interest in them, rather than describing them directly. "Therefore, the contested mark does not describe the services in question, but rather, in any case, it is limited to evoking a generic and indeterminate form of them, contrary to what was alleged by the applicant", they conclude.