Singapore: The difficulty of registering slogans reaffirmed in the matter of a trademark application by Arangur UG (haftungsbeschrankt)

Arangur UG (haftungsbeschrankt) ("Applicant") sought to register "PARTY LIKE GATSBY" ("Application Mark") as a trademark claiming the organization of entertainment events in Class 41 and services for providing food and drinks in Class 43, among other services.

The examiner objected to the Application Mark pursuant to Section 7(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act ("Act") on the basis of lack of distinctiveness. In deciding on maintaining the distinctiveness objection, the IP Adjudicator considered whether registration should be granted to a trademark consisting of a slogan despite the fact that no evidence of use in Singapore has been adduced.