WIPO announced the new 11th edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification) which will enter into force on January 1, 2017.
More information here.
Day: October 24, 2016
Providing evidences for well-known status in Switzerland
An interesting case from Switzerland concerning evidences for well-known status of a trademark.
Havana Club Holding filed an opposition against application for a mark CANA CLUB for alcohol beverages.
The IPO dismissed the opposition on the ground of the fact that Havana Club had weak distinctive character and in this light there weren’t possibilities for confusion with the later mark.
The decision was appealed based on the provided evidences for well-known status of the aforementioned mark.
According to the Federal Court, however, these evidences, which in the case were an online survey, were incorrect. One of the reasons about this was the fact that the survey didn’t include consumers above 55 age for example. Another downsides were that it concerned only rum but not alcohol beverage as a whole and whats more the questions themselves indicated to the consumer that the sign was a trademark. Moreover 47% from the people said that they recognized the Havana Club’s logo but it was unclear what exactly this logo was.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLANET 