On September 7, 2006, the European Court of First Instance admitted the likelihood of confusion between two figurative marks.
According to the Court, visually, the fir shape was the common dominant element of both marks which intellectually coincided in their ideas, the application being regarded as an amusing variant of the earlier trademark silhouette.
At first sight, this decision may appear to grant protection to a genre provided that the specific features of the earlier figurative element (a white character with a fir shape) do not really appear in the trademark application (a black fir).
However, the well-known character and high distinctiveness acquired through use of the earlier mark lead to approve the decision for such particular circumstances.