Birketts succeeds in ‘DRY JANUARY’ Trade Mark challenge
27 February 2024
Birketts, a UK Top 50 law firm, has successfully challenged the application to trade mark ‘DRY JANUARY’ on behalf of client Big Drop Brewing Co.
Birketts has advised Big Drop Brewing Co for a number of years. The brand was launched in October 2016 and is dedicated exclusively to making the finest 0.5% ABV beer.
On 29 October 2020, Alcohol Research UK applied to register ‘DRY JANUARY’ as a word trade mark for goods and services in classes 6, 9, 14, 18, 21, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35 and 43. Following publication, the application was partially opposed by Big Drop Brewing Co on the following grounds:
- The mark fails to satisfy the definition of a trade mark in section 1(1) of the Act because its lack of distinctiveness, descriptiveness and generic nature mean that it cannot distinguish the goods and services of one undertaking from another;
- The mark is a direct reference to abstaining from alcoholic beverages by ‘going dry’ during January. There are no additions to the words allowing the mark to identify the applicant’s goods as theirs alone and it has no such goods, nor will the applicant sell such goods;
- The public will recognise the mark as a description and/or characteristic of a particular product with the intended purpose to reduce and/or abstain from alcoholic consumption during January;
- Use by other providers of signs being or predominantly consisting of DRY JANUARY in relation to the sale of non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beverages to effect a reduction in alcoholic consumption during January predate the applicant’s filing date;
- Seeking registration for the contested goods and services prevents legitimate producers and sellers selling such products and providing the same during January and other times in the year;
- The opponent has used the sign #DRYJANUARY from November 2016 throughout the UK in relation to non-alcoholic beverages, low alcoholic beverages, manufacture of and retail service connected to the sale of the aforesaid beverages. Customers and potential customers would believe that the applicant’s goods and services are connected or are from a mutual source of origin to the opponent. This would cause confusion and damage to the opponent.
On the decision, Anousha Davies commented: “Birketts was pleased with the Tribunal Section’s decision that ‘DRY JANUARY’ should not be registered as a word mark for the sole benefit of one organisation. ‘DRY JANUARY’ is a commonly used term to convey abstaining from alcohol consumption during the month of January, rather than a trade mark identifying and distinguishing the source of a particular product or service. Registered protection of ‘DRY JANUARY’ would have unduly monopolised this term”.
The full decision is available to view here: https://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-challenge-decision-results/o013124.pdf
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Anousha Davies
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Maria Peyman
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Melanie Harvey
