• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]
Contact form
Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

  • Deutsch

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • xing
  • Email
MENUMENU
  • Services
    • Advice On Protective IP Rights
    • Patent Application /TM Registration
    • Enforcement Of IP Rights
    • Defence Against IP Rights Enforcement
    • Costs
  • Company
    • Fields of Law
      • Patent Law
      • Utility Model Law
      • Employees‘ Inventions
      • Trademark Law
      • Design Law
      • Trademark and Product Piracy
      • Expert Opinions
    • Our Law Firm
      • Dr. Karl-Hermann Meyer-Dulheuer
      • Dr. Tim Meyer-Dulheuer
      • Dr. Klaus Zimmermann
      • Zhichao Ying
      • Dr. Christoph Hölscher
    • Commitment
  • Contact
    • Where To Find Us
    • Write us!
    • Request call back
  • Blog

Risk of free-riding: Coca-Cola wins before the ECJ

8. December 2017

Success for the Coca-Cola Company: The European Court of Justice ruled a year-long legal battle in favor of the American soft drink giant. A Syrian beverage producer must not register its “Master Cola” as an EU trademark because of the risk of “economic free-riding”.

 

The “Cola Conflict” has its origin in May 2010: The Modern Industrial & Trading Investment Co. Ltd. (“Mitico”) based in Damascus, Syria, filed an application with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) for the registration of a Community trade mark (Nice Classes 29, 30, 32). The Coca Cola Company lodged a complaint with the Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) as it was considered that Mitico’s “Master Cola” mark violates its own registered Coca-Cola word marks.

 

Board of Appeal: Significant differences in wording

The Board of Appeal noted that the “Master” mark is also written in the curved “Spencer” font used by Coca Cola. In addition, the “a” in the lettering and the elongated first letter are almost identical to the Coca Cola brand. The word marks are thus very similar from a visual point of view, but according to the Board of Appeal there are clear differences in the sound of the two word marks. Finally the Board of Appeal came to the conclusion that Coca Cola has no sole claim to the “Spencer” font and consumers could textually distinguish between “Master” and “Coca-Cola”.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the Americans complained to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the verdict. The ECJ also noted the similarities in writing, but in this case highlighted the importance of the visual appearance over the wording itself. Because the design of Mitico’s Cola bottles is nearly exactly like the original Coca-Cola bottles (white lettering on a red ribbon) and consumers in self-service stores are usually strongly guided by the appearance of the products, the ECJ holds there is a likelihood of confusion.

The ECJ therefore challenged the Board of Appeal and stated that the Board of Appeal should have in a further step examined the risk of “economic free-riding”. The Board of Appeal did so afterwards, but dismissed Coca-Cola’s appeal again.

 

ECJ: Mitico wants to benefit from Coca-Cola’s reputation

Coca Cola

Coca Cola brought the case before the European Court of Justice again. In the now published judgment, the ECJ takes the view that Mitico wants to benefit from the reputation of the Coca-Cola brand in the Western public with its “Master” cola. By filing an EU trade mark, it can be assumed that the company wants to use the mark in Europe commercially in the way the EU trade mark was applied. So according to the judges a forecast must be made about the marketing of the branded product in the EU.

In this case, it would be necessary to examine how the “master” brand has been marketed in the Near and Middle East so far. And since the red and white overall appearance of the “Master” cola reminds very much of the original Coca-Cola, it can be assumed that consumers in the EU will link the two brands together. Due to the risk of “economic free-riding”, the EU trade mark of the Syrian company is therefore not valid in the view of the European Court of Justice and must not be registered.

Both parties still have the opportunity to take action against the decision within 2 months. The “Cola Conflict” could not be finished yet …

 

Do you need a patent attorney to defend your trademark against potential infringement?

Our attorneys are experienced in all areas of intellectual property and can help you wherever you need a professional. Contact us now to recieve a free call-back from our attorneys.

CAT-call_en
Source:

Text: Lexdellmeier.com

Photo: stevepb / Pixabay.com / CC0 License || EUIPO.de

 

  • share  
  • share 
  • share 
  • tweet 
  • share 

Category iconTrademark Law Tag iconAz. T-61/16,  Coca-Cola,  cola,  master cola,  EUIPO

Primary Sidebar

More articles about: Trademark Law

All articles

Blog Menu

  • Design Law
  • Healthcare & Lifesciences
  • International Intellectual Property
  • Licenses
  • News from our law firm
  • Overall
  • Patent Law
  • Product- and Trademark piracy
  • Trademark Law

Recent Posts

  • BPatG: Patent claim of cancer drug on active substance as salt 7. March 2022
  • Grant for European IP Protection: SME Fund 2022 4. March 2022
  • CODE-X vs. Cody’s: Likelihood of confusion in drinks? 25. February 2022
  • EOS lip balm no 3D trademark – appeal before ECJ not admissible 24. February 2022

Fields of Law

  • Patent Law
  • Utility Model Law
  • Employees’ Inventions
  • Trademark Law
  • Design Law
  • Trademark and Product Piracy
  • Expert Opinions
  • Costs

Das könnte Sie auch interessieren:

4. March 2022
Grant for European IP Protection: SME Fund 2022

Grant for European IP Protection: SME Fund 2022

25. February 2022
CODE-X vs. Cody’s: Likelihood of confusion in drinks?

CODE-X vs. Cody’s: Likelihood of confusion in drinks?

24. February 2022
EOS lip balm no 3D trademark – appeal before ECJ not admissible

EOS lip balm no 3D trademark – appeal before ECJ not admissible

21. February 2022
CFI: Pumpkin seed oil + PGI symbol

CFI: Pumpkin seed oil + PGI symbol

15. February 2022
SPOTIFY v POTIFY – a ‘pot’ app

SPOTIFY v POTIFY – a ‘pot’ app

10. February 2022
CFI: Shoes MADE IN ITALY

CFI: Shoes MADE IN ITALY

Contact us or request a call back

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]
Request a call back

Footer

Contact

Torhaus Westhafen
Speicherstrasse 59
D – 60327 Frankfurt am Main
Deutschland
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 199
[email protected]

Office Hours
Moday – Friday:   08:00-18:00

Fields of Law

  • Patent Law
  • Utility Model Law
  • Employees’ Inventions
  • Trademark Law
  • Design Law
  • Trademark and Product Piracy
  • Expert Opinions
  • Costs

Law Firm

  • Request non-binding call back
  • Company
  • Our Law Firm
  • ISO Certificate
  • Privacy Policy
  • Data handling for clients
  • Imprint

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • xing
  • Email

Newsletter Signup

© Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Meyer-Dulheuer MD Legal Patentanwälte PartG mbB

Contact Form

 

Give us a call, send us an email or fill out the contact form.

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]

Kontaktformular

 

Rufen Sie uns an, schicken Sie uns eine Mail oder füllen Sie das Kontaktformular aus.

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]