Supreme Court: "M'CM·C is a Similar Trademark to MCM, Registration Must Be Invalidated"

Trademarks related to the invalidation lawsuit between Mikmak Lab and MCM. The trademark on the left belongs to Mikmak Lab. The trademark on the right is MCM's prior registered trademark. The Supreme Court ruled that the two trademarks are similar and decided that Mikmak Lab's trademark registration should be invalidated.
[Photo by Supreme Court, screenshot of the judgment document]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has ruled that the trademark of the fashion brand 'Mikmac Lab (M'CM.C)' should be invalidated because it may cause confusion among consumers with another fashion brand 'MCM'.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) announced on the 11th that it overturned the lower court's ruling, which had ruled against MCM in the appeal trial of the trademark invalidation lawsuit filed by MCM against Mikmac Lab, and sent the case back to the Patent Court.

The court stated, "Mikmac Lab's trademark M'CM.C is written in large, bold letters, giving a strong impression to consumers and occupying a significant portion of the entire trademark, thus possessing strong distinctiveness. Consumers pronounce it as 'Em-Ci-Em-Ci' without particular difficulty, which is almost identical to the previously registered trademark MCM."

It further pointed out, "Since Mikmac Lab's trademark easily evokes the previously registered trademark MCM in consumers' minds, causing a risk of confusion regarding the source, the registration should be invalidated."

Mikmac Lab, a small and medium-sized fashion brand located in Cheongju, Chungbuk, applied for the trademark 'M'CM.C' in December 2015 and registered it in May 2017. Since then, Mikmac Lab has produced and sold sports bags, wallets, handbags, and business card holders bearing this trademark.

In response, another fashion brand MCM, which sells similar types of products, filed a lawsuit requesting the invalidation of Mikmac Lab's trademark registration, arguing that the trademark is similar to MCM's and may cause misunderstanding and confusion.

The first trial held at the Patent Court did not accept MCM's claim. It judged that the dots between the letters and the small inscription 'MICMAC LAB' at the bottom of the trademark distinguish it from the MCM trademark.

It also judged, "Actual consumers are more likely to refer to the brand as 'Mikmac' or 'Mikmac Lab' rather than reading it as 'Em-Ci-Em-Ci'."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.