TRADEMARK | The EU General Court on functional product shapes as EU trademarks

On 5 February 2026, the General Court (GC) of the EU issued its judgment in case T-437/25 (Empreinte v EUIPO), confirming the decision of the Board of Appeal (BoA) of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) which had rejected the application for registration of a 3D EU trademark representing the handle of a corkscrew. The application was ultimately refused under Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trademark (EUTMR), which excludes from registration signs consisting exclusively of a shape necessary to obtain a technical result. The GC clarified that the BoA had adequately identified the essential characteristics of the sign, namely the hand-shaped grip with finger hollows and the connected shaft, and correctly found that all these elements were dictated by the technical function of gripping and extracting a cork. The GC further confirmed that Article 7(1)(e)(ii) EUTMR applies also to parts of products, provided they are significant, and that in straightforward cases the EUIPO may rely on a visual assessment without requiring technical evidence. Overall, the decision reinforces the strict approach taken by EU courts in preventing trademark protection from being used to secure perpetual exclusivity over technically driven product features.

Newsletter n. 117 – April 2026