Hermes denied pursuit to register 3D marks

Disgruntled with the ruling by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) over registration of its 3D marks, Birkin handbag and Kelly handbag, Hermes sought legal remedy to reverse it at the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court. The Court recently handed the French designer powerhouse another defeat.

Once requesting territorial extension for Birkin and Kelly, Hermes suffered the first denial by the Trademark Office, which was also under the SAIC. Then it took the case to TRAB for the aforementioned review.

The court held that the switch portion of the two 3D marks mostly represented the products' function, which made the marks devoid of distinctiveness as a whole. The ruling of the TRAB was upheld accordingly.