## Facts

- A film production company applied to register the word sign “Fack Ju Göhte” as an EU trade mark for a broad range of goods and services.
- The sign was the title of a widely released German comedy film and sequels, viewed by millions in German-speaking countries.
- EUIPO refused registration under Regulation No. 207/2009, Article 7(1)(f), concluding the German-speaking public would understand “Fack Ju” as “Fuck you,” and therefore view the sign as vulgar and offensive.
- The EUIPO Board of Appeal upheld the refusal, finding the sign contrary to accepted principles of morality.
- The General Court dismissed the applicant’s action for annulment and affirmed EUIPO’s refusal.
- The applicant appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

## Issues

1. How must “trade marks which are contrary to … accepted principles of morality” under Article 7(1)(f) be assessed, including the role of the relevant public’s perception and contextual evidence?
2. Whether EUIPO and the General Court correctly applied Article 7(1)(f) in refusing registration of “Fack Ju Göhte” as contrary to accepted principles of morality.

## Decision

- The CJEU set aside the General Court’s judgment and annulled the EUIPO Board of Appeal decision refusing registration.
- The CJEU held that EUIPO and the General Court misapplied Article 7(1)(f) by treating the sign as inherently offensive based mainly on a presumed equivalence to an English vulgarity, without sufficient analysis of how the relevant public actually perceived the sign.
- The CJEU emphasized contextual factors indicating social acceptance: broad public exposure to the film title (including among younger audiences), distribution and promotion in the German-speaking area, and the absence of objective indications of censorship or widespread public scandal.
- The CJEU ordered EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay the applicant’s costs.

## Legal Principles

- “Accepted principles of morality” under Article 7(1)(f) concern the fundamental moral values and standards accepted by the relevant public at the time of assessment, and may change over time.
- The legality of refusal on morality grounds requires a rigorous, objective assessment grounded in the relevant public’s actual perception, not an abstract or institutionally assumed moral judgment.
- Assessment must consider the sign’s social, cultural, and linguistic context, including established real-world use and reception, rather than analyzing the wording in isolation.
- EUIPO must provide coherent reasons explaining why a sign is morally unacceptable as a trade mark when contextual evidence suggests broad public tolerance or acceptance.

## Conclusion

The CJEU held that morality-based refusal of an EU trade mark requires an evidence-driven analysis of how the relevant public perceives the mark in context, and it annulled EUIPO’s refusal of “Fack Ju Göhte” for failing to account for objective indicia of social acceptance and for relying too heavily on a decontextualized offensiveness assumption.


Constantin Film Produktion GmbH v. European Union Intell. Prop. Off. (EUIPO), Case C-240/18 P (C.J.E.U. 2020)