A Spanish rail company has failed in its appeal against a decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) related to its logo because it failed to lodge its initial application in English. EURACTIV Spain reports.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed Renfe’s appeal on April 5th, citing the company’s failure to submit its application in English to the EUIPO, the Court said in a statement.

On 4 June 2010, EUIPO registered the anagram ‘AVE’, which also included a bird motif, but a German businessman, Stephen Hahn, filed an application for cancellation against the logo, when it is used on methods of transportation.

The EUIPO upheld Hahn’s request.

Renfe filed its appeal against the decision in Spanish but the body informed the rail company that, under EU law, it should be lodged in the language of original case, i.e. English.

EUIPO informed Renfe that it had one month to submit a translated version of its appeal. But the Spanish outfit failed to do so and the property office decided its case was inadmissible.

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