Tom Ekeberg (Zacco) published an interesting story for Lexology regarding a trademark dispute between Coca Cola and the Norwegian beverage producer OM, which tried to use the trademark JALLASPRITE. Coca Cola complained about such use and as a result, OM replaced its mark with JallaXXXXXX.
However, even with that outcome, Coca Cola initiated a lawsuit claiming that with XXXXXX part of the mark OM was trying to take advantages of SPRITE trademark well-known status amongst the consumers. The reason for this is the fact that according to the US company most of the consumers will understand that XXXXX is a replacement of SPRITE bearing in mind the dispute between the companies.
According to the Court’s decision, when it comes to JALLASPRITE there is no need for a temporary injunction due to the fact that OM took all necessary steps to discontinue the use of the sign at hand.
With regard to JallaXXXXXX, however, the court supports the Coca Cola’s position because OM did their best to communicate amongst Norwegian consumers that XXXXXX is a replacement of SPRITE as a consequence of the US company’s legal proceeding against them. In that way, OM tried to take unfair marketing advantages of the situation. This creates a clear connection between SPRITE and JallaXXXXXX as brands.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLANET 