VI. MARKS CONTRARY TO MORALITY
1) The examiner refused to allow registration of the mark TSERKOVNOYE in Cyrillic
(an adjective being a derivative of the word "church" in the Russian
language) in the name of a local applicant. The refusal was based on two absolute
grounds: descriptiveness and the mark being contrary to ethic norms and principles
of morality. The applicant filed an appeal against the examiner's decision.
The applicant insisted that the word did not describe any characteristics of
alcoholic drinks. The Board referred to information provided in the Internet
that for the first time wine was used during religious ceremonies in Russian
churches as early as in the 11th century - soon after adoption of Christianity
as a religion in Russia. Besides, nowadays red wine is used not only during
Orthodox but also Catholic religious ceremonies. The wine used for these purposes
is known under the generic name KAGOR. Consequently, the word "church"
was found to be directly connected with wine and be descriptive of its characteristics,
namely that it was the red "kagor" wine.
With regard to the second ground for refusal the Board noted that though the
word "church" did not convey any negative information, when used as
a trademark it should be considered in connection with the goods it was supposed
to be used for. Use the word "church" for alcoholic drinks (other
than kagor) would create negative associations in the minds of believers and
would be contrary to the principles of religion.
The appeal was rejected and the mark was not allowed for registration.
