Zara is not similar to ZORA in Japan

INDITEX  as an owner of the famous ZARA brand lost a dispute in Japan.

The case at hand concerns a trademark application by a Japanese company for ZORA in class 18 – bags, pouches, wallets.

Against this mark, INDITEX filed an opposition based on its earlier mark ZARA in classes 18 and 35.

The company claimed possible consumer confusion based on a similarity between the signs which is enhanced by the reputation of the ZARA brand that had been gained throughout the years.

Although the Patent Office agreed that ZARA has a reputation, it dismissed the opposition. The arguments for this were that the second letter O is different from A. This creates different perception in the consumer’s mind especially in the light of the fact that both signs are short consisting only of 4 letters.

Source: Masaki MIKAMI