Sky Beats Skype. The Eu General Court Has Found That There Is A Likelihood Of Confusion Between The Two Marks.

Skype cannot register its trademark in Europe because it is likely to be confused with the one of the TV broadcasting giant Sky. This has been hold last May 5, 2015 by the General Court of the European Union (ECG) through three judgments (relating to cases T-423/12, T-183/13 and T-184/13). Considering the signs at issue similar, the ECG has uphold the arguments of the OHIM’s Board of Appeal, so that it has found that there is a risk of confusion between the trademarks SKYPE and SKY. However, the ECG has found irrelevant the secondary meaning occurred in connection to the use of the trademarks SKYPE, stating that “it is the recognition made by the relevant public of the earlier mark, and not the one made in connection of the mark applied for, which must be taken into account when determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion between the two trademarks”.