The Visual, the Phonetic and the Famous: Trade Mark Similarity in the Wake of Messi v EUIPO.

In Messi v EUIPO, the General Court of the EU stated that the signs at issue, "Messi" and "Massi", are visually and phonetically similar, as ruled by the First Board of Appeal. However, the General Court concluded that EUIPO erred in considering that Messi's reputation is limited only to that part of the public with an interest in football and sport in general. In fact, Messi is a well-known public figure who appears regularly on television and whose name is often in the papers. Thus, this case demonstrates the influence of notoriety on the strength of a trade mark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]