Wrigley's in sticky mess over trademark

The European Court of Justice has upheld a decision to block the Wrigley’s chewing gum maker from trademarking its “Doublemint” brand across the EU.

The Court backed a decision by the EU’s trademark office, that the combination of “double” and “mint” represented a description of the type of gum.

It added that the public interest was served when ”descriptive signs or indications may be used freely by all.”

The ruling by the Luxembourg-based court overturns a 2001 decision by a lower EU court which ruled in favour of Wrigley’s complaint against the European trademark office’s refusal to grant EU-wide protection for Doublemint.

Wrigley’s had argued that Doublemint is a new combination of words that helps consumers immediately identify the product.

Wrigley’s still has a chance to contest the case, since the ruling sends the issue back to the lower court to re-examine the application.

Wrigley’s brand has been trademarked in the United States for nearly a century.

The brand is also protected in Europe by national laws within most of the EU’s 15 members, but Wrigley’s was seeking to take advantage of EU rules designed to streamline trademark registration across the whole bloc.