OBELIX/MOBILIX "Counter-action" theory in trade marks upheld by ECJ

Para 3-126 In OBELIX/MOBILIX (Les Editions Albert Rene v OHIM intervening Orange), the ECJ dismissed an appeal from the decision of the CFI that Obelix was not confusingly similar with the mark Mobilix. In the CFI decision, the CFI held that "Obelix" was nt confusingly similar with "Mobilix" as such conveyed a reference to the famous character in the Asterix cartoon strip and thus was conceptually different from Mobilix. The Appellant held that the decision was flawed because it failed to rule on the well-known nature of the "Obelix" mark. The ECJ held that the CFI was entitled to make that finding and, following, Ruiz-Picasso and Muhlens v OHIM, held that conceptual differences may outweight aural and visual similarities and that in particular, a clear and specific meaning of one of the signs may have that effect where the public is capable of grasping it immediately (para 98). This is known as the "counteraction" theory.