Descriptive
But things turned out differently. It wasn’t Elon Musk who objected, but the European trademark office that blocked the registration of Melon Musk. The reason: the name Melon Musk is not distinctive. English-speaking consumers will interpret the name as “a substance with a strong smell of melon.” According to the trademark office, that makes it purely descriptive for a perfume — and such marks cannot be protected. Registration denied. So, Musk didn’t need to take action himself; the European trademark office gave him a helping hand.
Question marks
Still, I think there are some valid questions to be raised about this refusal. Yes, Melon Musk is clearly descriptive for a fragrance. But could it be that the strong association with the name Elon Musk, one of the most famous people in the world, causes the descriptive meaning to fade into the background and makes the name distinctive after all? Not everyone at the office agrees with me, but I think it’s a defensible argument.
Elon vs Melon
It’s actually a bit of a shame the trademark office didn’t just approve the name. We might have then seen a battle between Elon and Melon. Quite an intriguing prospect. Elon doesn’t own a trademark for his name in Europe. Would he still have been able to stop the Melon Musk trademark? Unfortunately, we’ll never know. The Saudi applicant failed to respond in time to the refusal, making the decision final.
Bas Kist
Banner photo: The Royal Society, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
