EU General Court Upholds lightoptics Trademark Registration

The General Court of the European Union has rejected a challenge by Polish company Salumanus sp. z o.o. seeking to invalidate the EU trademark registration for the figurative lightoptics mark owned by Hong Kong-based Heyoptics Co. Ltd.

In its October 7, 2026 judgment in Case T-631/25, the court upheld the EUIPO decision and dismissed the invalidity application in full. Salumanus had relied on grounds of earlier copyright under Article 60(2)(c) and bad faith under Article 59(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 in relation to goods and services in Classes 9 and 35, including fiber-optic cables and related equipment.

The court found that Salumanus failed to establish ownership of an earlier copyright in the sign and did not provide sufficient evidence to prove bad faith on the part of the applicant at the time of filing in 2021. The ruling underscores the high evidentiary threshold required to invalidate an EU trademark on these grounds.

The decision confirms the validity of the registration and illustrates the procedural and substantive hurdles faced by parties attempting to cancel marks based on pre-existing copyright claims or allegations of dishonest intent.

Sources: https://trademarklawyermagazine.com/eu-general-court-rejects-bad-faith-and-copyright-challenge-to-lightoptics-trademark/ https://zyllaw.com/trademark_news_letter.php