Slang could obtain trademark protection in EU
10/1/2013 | In August 2011 an application for the figurative mark "MOFOS" was filed at the Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union (OHIM) for adult movies and contents. The authority performed a normal examination by searching for its meaning and found that the word "Mofo" is a rude slang. The authority therefore rejected this mark. However, the board of appeal disagreed with this decision. The Board argued that a slang is not standard English. Any group could create their own slang to use, and of course no one other than the members of that group could know the meaning of the slang. Since this word has no meaning in the official dictionary, it could not be considered as being immoral. As a result, the application for the figurative mark "MOFOS" was granted.
Source: R0883_2012-4, Decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of 18 September 2012, OHIM
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