The present mark “청년농부”(English translation: YOUNG FARMERS) was registered for the goods of Class 30 by the Korean Trademark Office in August of 2018. An invalidation action against the registered mark was brought with the Trademark Office. The Trademark Office invalidated the trademark registration in February of 2020. The Trademark Office reasoned that the subject mark is not distinctive as a trademark for indicating the origin of goods. The present mark is a combination of two Korean words, “청년 (YOUNG MEN)” and “농부 (FARMERS)”. The Office did not say that the subject mark is descriptive in connection with the designated goods such as rice, rice cake, bread, soy source etc. However, the Office concluded that the subject mark is not distinctive since the terms has been used by many different channels as a generic name. However, the terms has not been used and are not necessary to describe the characteristics of goods. The present mark should have been decided as suggestive, but not non-distinctive.
Ⅰ. 머리말
Ⅱ. 심결문
Ⅲ. 평 석
Ⅳ. 맺는말