What is meant by the requirement of Distinctive Character?

A trademark must be capable of distinguishing the products and/or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. This requirement constitutes an absolute ground for refusal.

This means that, upon examination by the competent authority, a trademark application will not proceed to registration in, among others, the following circumstances:

• if the trademark is devoid of distinctive character;
• if the trademark consists exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the products or service;
• if the trademark consists exclusively of signs or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of trade.