The EU's second-highest court has rejected Japan Tobacco's appeal over the use of its Camel trademark, Thomson Financial reports.

In 2000, Portuguese coffee manufacturer Torrefaccao Camelo had applied for the registration of a trademark consisting of a picture of a camel, palm trees and pyramids for a brand of its roasted coffee. Japan Tobacco claimed this infringed on its Camel cigarette trademarks as they also include a camel, palm trees and pyramids.
As the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) rejected Japan Tobacco's opposition and registered the trademark, Japan Tobacco was seeking an appeal of this decision to the Court of First Instance (CFI). The CFI's judgment can be appealed to the EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice, within two months. (pi)