Well, this should improve the credibility of the European Union. Tomorrow (18 January), the European Court of Justice's general court is supposed to issue a ruling on a case brought by the German company Fun Factory, which, in case you did not know, is Europe's biggest manufacturer of erotic toys.
The company, which is based in the oh-so-erotic city of Bremen, filed an application with the EU's Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (based in the hotter, but sterile, city of Alicante) for a community trademark on the shape of one of its vibrators.
Fun Factory said that the design, composed of three interlocking spheres, was unique and so merited a trademark. The worldly-wise OHIM was unmoved by a “graphic representation” of the device's shape and function, and rejected the claim, saying that it was not sufficiently distinctive to warrant a trademark.
The company then appealed against the ruling to the general court of the ECJ.










