There is a likelihood of confusion under trade mark law if, because of the similarity of the signs applied for and the similarity of the goods and services, the relevant public (consumer) might believe that the goods come from the same or a related undertaking.

In the present case, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd filed an application for the figurative mark for, inter alia, mobile phones and computer hardware in class 9 at the EUIPO in 2017.

This was opposed by Chanel, based on the French trade marks.
The first mark is registered, inter alia, in class 9 for computer hardware.

The opposition was unsuccessful at both instances before the EUIPO. The ECJ now also endorsed this view.

According to the CFI (T-44/20), the signs are visually different. Even though curved lines are represented in both signs, those of the earlier sign are reminiscent of the letter “C”, whereas those of the younger sign could represent the letter “h” or “u”. Also, the lines of the younger sign are interrupted at the intersections, which is not the case with the older sign.

The mere fact that both signs represent intertwined letters in a circle does not support a finding of likelihood of confusion.

The full text of the decision can be found here.