Translation of "Emballage de produits de consommation " (French → English) :

(9a) Given that in many Member States large percentages of smokers are unlikely to stop smoking entirely, legislation should take into account their right to know objectively the impact the possible use of tobacco has on their health - information which they also receive through the packaging of the product they are likely to use.

That case-law, developed in relation to three-dimensional trade marks consisting of the appearance of the product itself or the packaging of goods, such as liquids, which are packaged in trade for reasons linked to the very nature of the product, also applies when the trade mark for which registration is sought is an ‘other’ mark consisting of the specific appearance of the surface of the packaging of a liquid product.

That case-law, which was developed in relation to three-dimensional trade marks consisting of the appearance of the product itself or the packaging of goods, such as liquids, which are packaged in trade for reasons linked to the very nature of the product (see Deutsche SiSi-Werke v OHIM, paragraph 29, and Case C-144/06 P Henkel v OHIM, paragraph 38), also applies where, as in the present case, the trade mark for which registration is sought is an ‘other’ mark consisting of the specific appearance of the surface of the packaging of a liquid product.

8. Calls for information campaigns to enhance consumers' awareness about products and practices that are harmful during pregnancy, in particular smoking, including second hand smoke, and use of alcohol, but also other consumer goods, such as medicinal products or chemicals, that pose health risks when taken or used during pregnancy; calls on the Commission to encourage manufacturers clearly to state on the packaging of such products that such a risk exists, in order to ensure that pregnant women are properly informed; calls on the E ...[+++]uropean institutions – particularly the European Medicines Agency –, national institutions and consumer organisations to approach the pharmaceutical industry and its representative bodies with a view to ensuring that due account is taken of consumer diversity, with specific reference to gender-based differences, in the preparation of pharmaceutical products old and new;

The twisted wrapper ., in light brown or gold, is not substantially different from the wrappers of the goods in question (sweets, caramels), which are commonly used in trade, thus coming naturally to mind as a typical wrapper shape for those goods.

In particular, when, as in the present case, the trade mark for which registration is sought consists of the three-dimensional shape of the packaging of the goods in question – a fortiori where the goods, because of their very nature, must be packaged in order to be marketed, so that the packaging chosen imposes its shape on the goods and, for the purposes of examining an application for registration as a mark, must be assimilated to the shape of the product (Henkel, supra, paragraph 33) –, the relevant norm or customs may be those which apply in the sector of the packaging of goods which are of the same type and intended for the same co ...[+++]nsumers as those goods in respect of which registration is sought.