Marques Class 46 reports about an interesting case regarding proof of genuine trademark use in Switzerland. Sofar Swiss AG applied for YALUAGE trademark for cosmetic products.
Against this mark an opposition was filed by Pierre Fabre based on an earlier mark ELUAGE for the same goods.
Sofar Swiss AG required proof of commercial use of the earlier mark. IPO upheld the opposition after observing the submitted evidences by Pierre Fabre.
What’s happened after that is that the Administrative court overturn this decision. The main argument for this was that all submitted evidences show transactions concerning this mark but only Pierre Fabre and its subsidiary companies in Switzerland which in turn doesn’t prove that the relevant products with the mark were reaching retail stores or end consumers in the country.
This case shows the need for careful analysis in every case of proving genuine use of trademarks because sometimes it could be a tricky business.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLANET 