Special
as
Trademark?
Special
as
Trademark?
of
Can a brewery company protect the term “Spezial” as a word mark if it has been in use as a type designation in the beer trade for decades? Is a reference to similar registered trademarks of other companies sufficient to enforce its own application?
Special as a trademark for beer
An applicant wanted to register the word “Spezial” as a word mark for drinking glasses and kitchenware (class 21), beers and non-alcoholic beverages (class 32) and gastronomic services (class 43). However, the DPMA refused the application due to the lack of distinctive character and the descriptive nature of the trademark. The applicant filed an appeal.
It referred to several prior registrations of similar-sounding terms such as “special” for other classes of goods, the EU trademark “Spezial” for vehicle accessories and English-language variants such as “Special K” and “e-special”.
Distinctive character
Trademark law only protects signs that are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one company from those of other companies. This characteristic is known as distinctiveness. A term that merely describes what a product is, how it tastes or what quality it has does not fulfill this requirement.
The idea behind this makes sense. If a company were to monopolize the word “special” as a trademark, it could prevent all competitors from calling their own beers or drinks by that name. However, a descriptive term belongs to the general public. Trademark law draws a clear line here.
Federal Patent Court rejects appeal
With Decision of 09.03.2026 – Ref. 26 W (pat) 531/21 the Federal Patent Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal. On the one hand, the term lacked the necessary distinctive character. Secondly, “Spezial” has long been used in the beer sector as a designation for a particular type of beer and not as a reference to a specific company. Secondly, prior registrations of other trademarks do not set a precedent. Each application is examined independently, regardless of what other companies have enforced in the past.
The registered word mark “Spezial” merely indicates that the goods are something special. In the field of beer and brewing, it is a common trade name that is not perceived by the public as an indication of commercial origin
According to the judges, the same applies to drinking glasses, kitchenware and gastronomic services. The word remains a general indication of quality without an origin function and is therefore not registrable as a trademark.
Conclusion
The rejection of the word mark “Spezial” is not a surprise, but the logical application of trademark law. Anyone who chooses a term that is understood on the market as a general description cannot expect this term to be the exclusive property of a single company.
When looking for the right trademark, companies must make sure that it is suitable as an indication of origin and not just an indication of quality.
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