ABSTRACT
This chapter concludes on the main purpose of this book to find practical solutions relating to the application of the functionality absolute grounds for a refusal of trade mark registration under the EUTM. It discusses the business interests in registering product features (within the large spectrum of non-traditional signs) that establish a consumer’s purchase decision via a broad sensory experience, thus the challenges of overlapping rights. The conclusions argue that applying functionality to assess the competitive need for certain product features, measured by the extent of substitutes, bring beneficial effects for the practice. The conclusion also explains why introducing to EUTM practice a new dimension originating in the ‘law and economics’ approach (see US law) that addresses the role trade marks play in market competition, may be useful to functional signs. Additionally, the author considered that interdisciplinary input from the field of marketing, branding, design engineering, and aesthetics may be instrumental in providing an enhanced understanding of consumers’ preferences, purchase decision and choice of alternative products to establish whether and how a functional trade mark at issue may affect market competition. The final part outlines the specifics of the assessment in case of technical, aesthetic, and generic functional signs.
