Said the court, the two marks shared the word ‘glamour’ -- but the addition of the words ‘tendencia’, ‘diseño’ and ‘vanguardia’ did not confer distinctiveness on Vi Da's mark. It was recognised that, in the fashion and beauty sectors, products are usually identified with terms that are apparently “weak”, but which -- when used in these sectors -- may gain strength and recognition. This was the case with GLAMOUR, which was a well-known trade mark in the fashion and publication sectors. Accordingly, TENDENCIA GLAMOUR DISEÑO VANGUARDIA would evoke the magazine owned by the owner of the earlier mark and would mislead consumers into believing that it had started to publish another fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazine. Registration of the mark applied for would thus lead to confusion regarding the source of the publication.
Source: "Advanced Magazine Publishers prevents registration of mark containing 'glamour'" by Fernando Noetinger (Noetinger & Armando, Buenos Aires), written for World Trademark Review, 3 July 2014
