The trademark “Black Friday” was declared revoked by the Berlin Appellate Court on Oct. 14, 2022, with retroactive effect from April 25, 2019. The court thus confirmed the trademark cancellation for all goods and services that had not already been canceled by the German Federal Patent Court (BPatG). The German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) subsequently confirmed the decision of the BPatG in its entirety. The decision of the BPatG is thus legally binding. The partial cancellation ordered by the BGH has now taken place.
On April 15, 2021, the Berlin Regional Court had already declared the “Black Friday” trademark to be revoked for all of the more than 900 registered goods and services. The lawsuit had been filed by the owner of the website Black-Friday.de, a portal that collects information about discount promotions offered by other companies. According to the court, the trademark was not used in a way that preserved the rights for any of the registered goods and services. The trademark owner appealed against the judgment before the Appellate Court in Berlin.
In a judgment dated Oct. 14, 2022, the first-instance decision was upheld for all goods and services still registered after the decision of the Federal Patent Court. An appeal is not permitted. This means that the trademark owner now only has the option of filing a non-admission appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
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