Paris First Instance Court, October 30, 2009
We just noticed an interested decision involving ZARA FRANCE. The owner of the word Community trademark I LOVE MY T’s was suing for counterfeiting ZARA FRANCE for having sold some t-shirts bearing I LOVE MY BASIC TEE. The Court said I LOVE MY T’s had not distinctiveness. The wording “I LOVE” in itself was regarded are currently used on the clothing market.
The Court regarded “MY T’s” as an immediate and direct evocation of “my t-shirt”. The action consequently failed. The reasoning is a bit short as the link between “MY T” and “my t-shirt” was not so obvious. Also the choice of using “I LOVE MY BASIC TEE” was not necessarily pure chance considering the mark “I LOVE MY T’s” especially considering that the products were identical.