Israel Trademark number 193277 “It’s all for you” is one of four similar slogans (the others being stylized) that are used in publicity campaigns by the Friends of Active Servicemen and Pensioners LTD., an organization dedicated to this branch of the population by providing goods, holiday breaks and the like at discount rates. I’d post a link to their website to allow the organization to explain more, but one needs a password to get in. (As I immigrated to Israel aged 24, my military career was not very impressive, and I am not considered a retired serviceman).
Since the slogan is not used as indication of origin of services and goods and lacks distinctiveness, the Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Noach Shalev Shmulovich refused the marks.
Quoting Enterprises Inc v OHIM (REAL PEOPLE REAL SOLUTIONS) [2003] E.T.M.R 731 (57) “The Court emphasized in its decision the importance of considering whether the slogan in question would be viewed by the relevant public as an indicator of origin or simply as a promotional statement in relation to the goods/services in question”, the Assistant commissioner ruled that although slogans were essentially registerable, the public would not see the slogan as indication or origin, and therefore it wasn’t fairly described as a trademark.
What Shmulovich is saying is that not all terms, slogans, etc. used in trade and marketing or even in branding, can be considered as trademarks or service marks.
The decision is in line with most other Israel trademark decisions regarding advertising slogans. It is interesting in that it comes after the Vorsprung Dur Technik decision in Europe that allowed a slogan to be registered by Audi.
Another interesting question is whether such a slogan can be considered copyright? Presumably. However, that does not mean that the commercial users own the mark merely by having adopted it.
