The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has sided with jewellery retailer Tiffany & Co and agreed to halt the registration of a beautician’s trademark.
Back in April 2018, Tiffany Parmar applied to register‘Cotswold Lashes by Tiffany’, covering class 3 (cosmetics); class 41 (education and beauty school services); and class 44 (hygienic and beauty care).
Later that year, Tiffany opposed the trademark application, citing its numerous ‘Tiffany’ UK and EU trademarks in opposition.
In response, Parmar put Tiffany to proof of use in respect of both UK marks for the registered specifications in class 14, which includes jewellery.
Beauty therapist Parmar argued that she started working under the name Beauty by Tiffany in 2014, offering a range of beauty treatments. In 2015 she decided to concentrate on eyelash treatments and altered her trading name to Lashes by Tiffany. She subsequently altered the business name to Cotswold Lashes by Tiffany.
In its decision, issued on January 8, the IPO found that most of the goods covered by the applied-for trademark and Tiffany’s trademarks were identical, apart from the goods covered by class 44 of Parmar’s trademark application which had a low degree of similarity.
George Salthouse of the IPO concluded that the trademarks were visually and aurally similar to a low degree, with a medium degree of conceptual similarity.
Parmar was ordered to pay Tiffany & Company £1,000 ($1,300) as a contribution towards costs.
Source: World IP Review
