ICC 526/2014

This case called a request for a trademark to be allowed to be registered even though it was similar to one held by a sister company. Key issues included the international and local reputation of the products and whether the marks were similar enough to mislead consumers.

Background

A company submitted a request to register two types of a product under a trademark “Mann Filter” but the request was refused on the grounds the trademark “Man” was already registered under the name of another company, which was a sister company of the applicant company.

The company objected to the decision and claimed there was a difference between the two trademarks and that the trademark which had been registered in a number of countries and the product had a good reputation in the local and international market. Therefore, the company filed a claim requesting the trademark be registered under its name.

The court of first instance accepted the objection and issued a ruling requesting the registrar to register the trademark “Mann Filter” under the name of the company.

Decision

The legal representative of the Industry and Minerals Minister appealed the ruling before the court of cassation.