ANTMINER v ANTCHAIN: General Court confirms likelihood of confusion
Bitmain Technologies Inc. sought to register the word mark ANTMINER as an EU trade mark. Advanced New Technologies Co. Ltd opposed, relying on the earlier EU word mark ANTCHAIN. The General Court dismissed Bitmain's action.
What was the case about?
Bitmain Technologies Inc. filed on 12 October 2021 an application to register the word mark ANTMINER as an EU trade mark for Class 9 goods, including computer hardware for mining cryptocurrency, integrated circuits and related software. Advanced New Technologies Co. Ltd filed an opposition on 27 January 2022, relying inter alia on the earlier EU word mark ANTCHAIN (Class 9: computer software, networking hardware, data processing programs). The Opposition Division upheld the opposition on the basis of the earlier mark ANT. Bitmain appealed and requested suspension of the appeal proceedings until a final decision in the revocation proceedings it had brought against the mark ANT. The Board of Appeal refused suspension and dismissed the appeal on the basis of the ANTCHAIN mark: there was a likelihood of confusion, as the goods were identical and the signs were averagely similar due to the common word element 'ant'. Bitmain brought an action before the General Court.
The General Court dismissed the action in its entirety. It confirmed that the Board of Appeal could refuse suspension, as it could base its decision on another earlier mark that was not contested. On the substance, the Court found a likelihood of confusion: the Class 9 goods are identical and the word element 'ant' is the most distinctive element, being at the beginning of the signs and having average distinctive character. The relevant public could therefore perceive ANTMINER as a variant of the ANTCHAIN mark. The argument that the opposition was filed in bad faith was rejected: bad faith is not to be taken into account in opposition proceedings under Article 8 of Regulation 2017/1001.
Action dismissed: ANTMINER remains unregistrable due to ANTCHAIN
The General Court dismissed Bitmain's action and confirmed the refusal of the ANTMINER trade mark application. It found a likelihood of confusion with the earlier EU mark ANTCHAIN due to identical goods and the distinctive element 'ant'. Bitmain bears the costs of the proceedings.
What you can learn from this
For Swiss SMEs, this case shows the importance of choosing a distinctive name. Before filing a trade mark, similar earlier marks should be researched, especially if the name contains a short, striking word element that also appears in other marks. A mere addition such as 'MINER' is not enough to rule out a likelihood of confusion if the beginning of the sign is identical and the goods are the same.
Monitoring is equally important: the proprietor of an earlier mark can oppose newer applications. Conversely, in an opposition, one should check whether the earlier mark is actually used and whether suspension of the proceedings is advisable. The General Court confirms that the Board of Appeal may refuse suspension when it can rely on another earlier mark that is not contested. Bad faith on the part of the opponent does not help in opposition proceedings; it must be raised in separate proceedings if necessary.
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Monitored automatically · Status: 23.10.2026
- 23.09.2026 General Court confirms: ANTMINER is not registrable as an EU trade mark due to the likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark ANTCHAIN. Source
- 23.06.2025 Bitmain Technologies brought an action on 23 June 2025 before the General Court of the European Union against EUIPO concerning the ANTMINER trade mark (Case T-409/25). Source
Entries are generated automatically from official sources. Decisions may be appealed and are not necessarily final.
Sources
General Court of the European Union, judgment of 23 September 2026, T-409/25 (Bitmain Technologies Inc. v EUIPO).
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This article was generated automatically from published decisions, is for information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.