General Court Confirms Chiquita Trade Mark Invalid for Fresh Fruits

Background

Chiquita Brands, based in Florida, had registered the figurative sign with EUIPO as an EU trade mark for several foodstuffs, including fresh fruits. In May 2020, Compagnie financière de participation, based in Marseilles, applied for a declaration of invalidity on the ground that the mark lacked distinctive character. In May 2023, EUIPO declared the mark invalid, but only for fresh fruits, finding that it was not distinctive for those goods and that Chiquita had not shown distinctiveness acquired through use.

What the General Court decided

The Court held that neither the shape nor the colour scheme of the mark gives it distinctive character. The shape is a simple geometric figure, a variation of an oval, with no easily and instantly memorable features, and oval labels are commonly used for bananas because they are easy to stick onto curved fruit. The blue and yellow combination consists of primary colours common in the fresh fruit business and is not particularly striking.

On acquired distinctiveness, the Court found that Chiquita had not demonstrated that the mark, as registered, had become distinctive through use throughout the European Union. Most of the evidence related to only four Member States, without showing that the market in other Member States was comparable, and in almost all the evidence the mark appeared with additional elements, in particular the word "chiquita".

Why it matters

The ruling is a reminder that simple shapes and common colour combinations face a high threshold for registration as EU trade marks, and that evidence of acquired distinctiveness must cover the whole EU and show the mark as registered rather than combined with a word mark. Brand owners relying on label or packaging devices may wish to review how they are used and evidenced across Member States.

What happens next

An appeal on points of law may be brought before the Court of Justice within two months and ten days, but it will proceed only if the Court of Justice first allows it.

Sources

• Court of Justice of the EU: Press Release No 191/24, Judgment in Case T-426/23 Chiquita Brands v EUIPO
• Court of Justice of the EU: Case T-426/23, Chiquita Brands v EUIPO