Doublemint, which comes in a familar green wrapping and carries a double-headed arrow logo, is a registered trademark in 14 out of 15 member EU states. A pan-European trademark would be cheaper than registering the brand in each individual state.
The EU rejected the proposal because it said that the word Doublemint is just "descriptive of certain characteristics of the goods in question, namely their mint-based composition and their mint flavour", according to reports.
It said that the name lacks a "fanciful or imaginative element". Wrigley can reapply for a trademark for the brand using a different approach.
Wrigley could be successful if it can prove that the word "is capable of being used by other economic operators to designate a characteristic of their goods and services".
A spokesperson Wrigley said the company believes that Doublemint "is a unique name representative of a unique product and that it is a trademark, which has been associated with Wrigley's quality for almost a century".
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