December 2019. It’s not just T-Mobile’s magenta colour trademark that’s under pressure. The familiar blue and white checker design of the Hästens bed and mattress company is also being squeezed after the European Court of Justice declared it invalid in early December.

Insufficiently distinctive

The ruling upheld a previous decision by the Board of Appeal of the European Trademark Office EUIPO. The Court concluded that the simple checker pattern wasn’t distinctive enough as a trademark for beds and settees. It said that checker patterns were often used to denote furniture and that the Hästens mark did not differ significantly from the norm or customs of the sector.

EU trademark registration no. 1340047 declared invalid