“Pictograms”

• 1. The signs on which the claim for infringement are based constitute nothing else but an information on how to ultimately handle textiles that are sold by third parties. The signs do not have the function of guaranteeing an origin and do not show any distinctive character.

• 2. As such, the signs are not used as trade marks. It has not been demonstrated that the consumer who purchases clothing identifies the pictogram labels as trade marks that could indicate an origin. Not even the associations that represent entrepreneurs in the textile sector (plaintiffs) use the signs in order to indicate an origin. In fact, the plaintiffs do not communicate to the public at all, but only address entrepreneurs in the textile sector in order to remind them that membership in their associations is required in order to use the signs in question.