The exclusion from protection of functional shapes under the trade mark law of the EU
Article 4 of the Community Trade Mark Regulation (CTMR) defines signs of which a Community trade mark may consist in a very wide manner, expressly including the shape of goods or of their packaging. However, with regard to such shapes, the Regulation in its Article 7(1)(e) introduces a, in comparison with other signs, additional ground for refusal that has to be overcome when seeking registration.