#62025TJ0471General Court Ruling: EU Word Mark 'NAVIGATE' Refused Registration Due to Descriptive Character (Case T-471/25)

On 25 March 2026, the General Court of the European Union (Fifth Chamber) issued a judgment in Case T-471/25, dismissing the appeal brought by ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd against the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The case concerned ABB's application to register the word mark 'NAVIGATE' as an EU trade mark, which was refused by EUIPO on the absolute ground that the term is descriptive of the goods or services for which protection was sought. The Court confirmed that under Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the EU trade mark, a sign must be refused registration if it consists exclusively of signs or indications that may serve, in trade, to designate characteristics of the goods or services. The word 'NAVIGATE' was found to directly describe a feature, function, or purpose of the relevant goods or services — most likely software, digital platforms, or navigation-related technology — and therefore lacks the distinctiveness required for trade mark protection. ABB, the global technology company specializing in electrification and automation, argued that 'NAVIGATE' had acquired distinctiveness or was not purely descriptive in the relevant context. The Court rejected these arguments, upholding EUIPO's refusal decision and reinforcing the principle that common English-language verbs denoting core functionalities of products cannot be monopolized as trade marks. This judgment is consistent with established EU trade mark case law that protects the public interest in keeping descriptive terms freely available for use by all market participants.

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