{"id":5476,"date":"2026-06-19T07:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T05:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abrilabogados.com\/?p=5476"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:58:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T05:58:21","slug":"the-distinctiveness-of-book-titles-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abrilabogados.com\/en\/noticias\/the-distinctiveness-of-book-titles-in-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF BOOK TITLES IN THE SPOTLIGHT"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EUIPO Grand Board of Appeal issued a decision on 27 May 2026 confirming that the book titles \u201cANIMAL FARM\u201d and \u201c1984\u201d must be refused because they constitute descriptive indications and lack distinctive character in relation to the goods and services at issue.<\/p>\n

On 6 March 2018, The Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell filed two European Union trademark applications: one for the word sign \u201cANIMAL FARM\u201d covering goods and services in various classes, including Classes 9, 16, 28 and 41, and another for \u201c1984\u201d covering goods and services in various classes, including Classes 9, 16 and 24.<\/p>\n

The relevant goods and services included, among others, audiovisual, magnetic and digital media; books and printed publications; toys and games; as well as education- and entertainment-related services.<\/p>\n

In June and July 2019, the applications were partially refused pursuant to Article 7(1)(b) and (c) EUTMR on the grounds that they described certain characteristics of the goods and services for which protection was sought and, moreover, lacked distinctive character.<\/p>\n

Both decisions were appealed by the applicant. Subsequently, the Fifth Board of Appeal referred the cases to the Grand Board of Appeal after identifying divergent approaches in the decision-making practice regarding the registrability of book titles and the names of well-known fictional characters.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, in 2024 two new applications for \u201cANIMAL FARM\u201d and \u201c1984\u201d were successfully registered for goods and services in Classes 18, 21, 25, 28 and 45.<\/p>\n

In its decision, the Grand Board concluded that the signs applied for were descriptive for all the goods and services claimed in Classes 9, 16, 28 and 41, since a significant part of the relevant public would immediately recognize \u201cANIMAL FARM\u201d and \u201c1984\u201d as the titles of George Orwell\u2019s novels. Consequently, those signs would be perceived, at first sight and without any further cognitive effort, as indicating the content or subject matter of the relevant goods and services. Its reasoning may be summarised as follows:<\/p>\n