Chanel has won a trade mark dispute over its iconic No. 5 perfume bottle after the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) rejected a rival fragrance company's application to register a similar design. The ruling, dated 9 October 2026, upheld Chanel's opposition and confirmed that the luxury house's distinctive packaging enjoys legal protection.
The EUIPO found that the rival's proposed bottle could take unfair advantage of the reputation associated with Chanel's design. The ruling is significant because it demonstrates how a product's shape can receive trade mark protection independently of its name or logo, provided the necessary legal requirements are met.
Chanel Challenges Rival Over Its Iconic Bottle
The dispute began in April 2024, when Romanian fragrance company Chaos Perfumes applied to register a three-dimensional trade mark for a perfume bottle featuring white-and-gold colouring and distinctive wording.
Chanel formally opposed the application in September 2024, arguing that the proposed design shared recognisable features with its registered No. 5 bottle and could benefit unfairly from the reputation it had established. The EUIPO subsequently upheld Chanel's opposition and rejected the application.
A central issue was whether Chanel could demonstrate that consumers recognised the shape of its bottle independently of the CHANEL name and No. 5 branding. Chaos Perfumes argued that perfume bottles were conventional packaging and challenged the distinctiveness of Chanel's design, pointing to the widespread use of rectangular containers across the fragrance industry.
The EUIPO nevertheless found that Chanel had established a reputation for its bottle shape in France. Its assessment considered evidence including advertising, press coverage, exhibitions and commercial records.
Among the evidence cited was a 2016 survey of 2,438 women in France, in which 72 per cent reportedly associated an unbranded image of the bottle with Chanel without being prompted. The decision also considered the bottle's appearance in works of art, including pieces by Andy Warhol, as part of the evidence supporting its recognition.
Why the EUIPO Ruled in Chanel's Favour
The decision did not depend on the two bottles being almost identical. The EUIPO identified differences in their colours, wording and labels, assessing their visual and conceptual similarity as low while acknowledging that Chanel's bottle had limited inherent distinctiveness because perfume containers are ordinary product packaging.
However, the authority considered the reputation Chanel had established for its bottle shape and whether French consumers would make a mental connection between the competing designs. The bottles shared certain characteristics, including a compact rectangular body, rounded corners, a short neck and a broad, flattened stopper.
The EUIPO concluded that the association could allow Chaos Perfumes to gain an unfair commercial advantage by benefiting from the recognition and positive image attached to Chanel's packaging. It therefore upheld the opposition under Article 8(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, which protects trade marks with a reputation against certain later marks that take unfair advantage of, or cause detriment to, their distinctive character or reputation.
The ruling highlights how established luxury brands can use trade mark law to protect distinctive packaging when they can demonstrate the necessary reputation and meet the relevant legal requirements. However, the decision concerns the rejection of a particular trade mark application; it should not be interpreted as a blanket ban on the rival selling its fragrance or using every rectangular bottle design.
For Chanel, the outcome underlines the commercial value of packaging that consumers can recognise even without a visible brand name. It also demonstrates that a low degree of similarity between competing designs does not automatically prevent a successful opposition based on the reputation of an earlier trade mark.
