Trademark law prohibits the registration of signs consisting exclusively of indications that may serve in trade to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the goods or services.
Some examples of cases where trademark registration was not permitted due to being descriptive include:
- “Agua Fresca de rosas” for Class 3 products relating to perfumery and cosmetics, specifically eau de cologne for women
It is defined as descriptive because the terms used in the configuration of the requested trademark “Agua”, “Fresca”, and “Rosas” are those commonly used in the market to distinguish specific qualities of certain perfumery products, such as colognes and similar items; therefore, they are inadequate to produce the reflexive effect in the consumer that would allow them to associate the commercial origin of the designated product (Supreme Court Ruling of July 14, 2009)
- “Masjugo” for Class 32 products or services consisting of fruit juices.
It is descriptive because the expression is composed of those words (“más” and “jugo”) in a way that is immediately perceptible to the consumer. Consequently, it has been considered that the aforementioned prohibition on the exclusive use of descriptive terms applies. (Supreme Court Ruling of June 11, 2008)
- “El sitio de las compras” for services in Class 35 relating to advertising; business management; business administration; office functions; Class 38 telecommunications; and Class 41 education; training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities
It is descriptive because “the expression “sitio de las compras” cannot be monopolized by the appellant to cover the provision of certain commercial services—in this case, corresponding to the aforementioned classes of the International Classification—which is, ultimately, nothing more than the activity of buying and selling said services.” “That name, as a whole, serves in trade to designate both a physical location (that is, an establishment where buying and selling take place) and, currently, the virtual space or internet “site” where buying and selling operations for products, goods, and services are carried out” (Supreme Court Ruling of May 3, 2007)
