In a recent judgment concerning the world’s most famous golf tournament “The Masters”, the General Court has provided further clarity and reaffirmed the scope of the enhanced protection afforded to trade marks with a reputation in the EU. 

The decision also sheds light on the EU’s approach, post Brexit, to the relevance of UK evidence in these types of proceedings. Since the UK left the EU, the EUIPO no longer considers a reputation confined to the UK as relevant when assessing a reputation in the EU, even if this reputation existed before the end of the transitionary period.

Our summary of the case will follow shortly.