MORGAN defeats LORNA MORGAN

Morgan S.A., the owner of the well-known MORGAN fashion label, has, on appeal, successfully opposed an application to register the words LORNA MORGAN for clothing, footwear and headgear, by a company associated with the glamour model Lorna Morgan.

Morgan S.A., the owner of the well-known MORGAN fashion label, has, on appeal, successfully opposed an application to register the words LORNA MORGAN for clothing, footwear and headgear, by a company associated with the glamour model Lorna Morgan.

Mr Richard Arnold QC, hearing the appeal, declared that by the date the applicant filed its UK trade mark application the opponent's MORGAN trade mark had, through extensive use in connection with goods sold to consumers in the UK, acquired a substantial reputation in the field of clothing. In particular, he held that the MORGAN mark had, by this date, acquired a "strong reputation in the field of women's clothing" and that whilst it "may not have been quite a household name, it was certainly a well-known name in that field. Further, given the significant reputation of MORGAN and the level of attention that is exercised by the average purchaser of clothing, he felt the average consumer who was familiar with MORGAN clothing might be confused when presented with clothing bearing the mark LORNA MORGAN into concluding that they "came from the same or economically-linked undertakings". He felt that the average consumer might make such a link in the same way as the marks COCO CHANEL and CHANEL and GIORGIO ARMANI and ARMANI.

As a consequence, he held that the opponent had established a likelihood of confusion, he allowed the appeal and he refused the application in so far as it related to clothing, footwear and headgear.