Abstract

The gloss refers to the judgment of the CJEU issued in the course of the proceedings initiated as a result of a question of the referring court whether the definition of 'shape' within the meaning of Art. 3 § 1.(e).(iii) of Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks was limited to three-dimensional characteristics of goods, such as three-dimensional contours, size and volume of goods, or this provision also applies to other than three-dimensional characteristics of goods, such as colour. The CJEU found in its judgment that the sign depicting the colour applied to the sole of a high-heeled shoe does not consist exclusively of "shape". The gloss is approving of the judgment and assumes that the use of a specific colour by placing it in a given place of the goods will not always be limited by putting this colour in a specific shape, the same on each of the trademarked goods.