Just recently, Sony ‘Vita’ loses out in genuine use revocation proceeding before the EU Court where the General Court ruled that Sony had not provided sufficient evidence of genuine use of the mark in the EU within the relevant five-year period. Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Ltd made a trade mark application in July 2001 in Class 9 for the goods “data carriers containing programs, computer software; audio and/or image carriers (not of paper), in particular magnetic tape cassettes, audio tapes, audio compact discs, DAT (digital audio tape) cassettes, videodiscs, exposed films, lithographs”.

Then in October 2011, Vieta Audio filed an application for revocation on the mark arguing that Sony had not used the Vita mark during the relevant five-year period from 14 October 2006 to 13 October 2011. Sony had failed to show that it had used the Vita mark for ‘magnetic tape cassettes, audio tapes, audio compact discs, DAT (digital audio tape) cassettes, videodiscs, videotapes, exposed films, lithographs (PSVita is handheld gaming console). Thus, it is important to always apply and to use the trade mark as intended.