EU Court favors Catalan jewelry company Tous in dispute over bear logo

The General Court of the European Union (EGC) has backed the Catalan jewelry company Tous in the use of the bear logo.

The court has declined the appeal made by the Polish company Apart in order to declare such a symbol "expired" of registration. 

Back in 2017, Apart, a Polish company requested the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to declare an "expiration" of Tous' bear symbol. Apart claimed that the Catalan jewelry company had not used the bear symbol "during an uninterrupted period of five years", but Tous provided proof that they were, in fact, using it. 

The EUIPO deemed the claim partially valid leaving Tous without the right to use its logo in some products. 

The Polish company went a step further and appealed EUIPO's decision to the General Court of the European Union which ruled on Wednesday that Tous had used the bear symbol and that it is "a distinctive character" of the brand and "immediately identifiable" by consumers, therefore rejecting Apart's appeal.