sWEDEn
sWEDEn
tHE sCoPE of PRotECtIon foR tRADE AnD
CoMPAnY nAMEs In sWEDEn Is stRonG
trademarks pharmaceutical product came onto the market. Th e proprietor claimed that
Th e patent offi ce refused applications from Guccio Gucci for registration of
it originally intended to sell the product via pharmacies, which at the time
the marks ‘GG’ and ‘GG & design’ in Sweden via international registrations
were all state-owned. Th e product needed to be approved before being sold
for goods in Class 25. Th e refusal was based on the earlier trade name
and it took eight years to get this approval. Th e court decided that it was
GG Sömnadsindustri belonging to a sole proprietor. ‘Sömnadsindustri’
allowable to choose only the one available sales channel and that the delay
means ‘sewing industry’ and the sole proprietorship is in the business of
was reasonable. It should be noted that the state monopoly on pharmacies
the manufacture and sale of clothing and textiles. Gucci argued that its
was removed in 2009 but pharmaceutical products still need approval before
trademarks are well known for fashion and apparel, and consumers would
being sold.
connect GG and GG & design with Gucci, not with GG Sömnadsindustri.
Th e patent offi ce found that the marks were confusingly similar, so Gucci
appealed to the Court of Patent Appeals. Th is court refused the appeal
Barry Franks is a senior partner and European patent attorney at Brann in
without any reasoning, thereby fi nally refusing the Swedish designations
Uppsala. He can be contacted at: barry.franks@brann.se
of the international registrations. Th is shows that the scope of protection
for trade and company names in Sweden is strong, as the letters GG have
low distinctiveness and the word Sömnadsindustri is merely descriptive.
However, Gucci may still be able to get a trademark registered if it designates
Barry Franks is a senior partner and European patent attorney,
who works in Brann’s Uppsala offi ce. He started his career in IP
Sweden via a Community Trademark. In order to challenge this, GG
as an EPo examiner in 1983. since leaving the EPo in 1993,
Sömnadsindustri would have to show more than just local signifi cance.
he has divided his time almost equally between working in
industry as in-house counsel at GE Healthcare and working in
Legitimate delay
private practice. He handles most aspects of patents, including
Th e Swedish Trade Mark Act requires a registered trademark to be put to use
drafting, prosecution, oppositions, appeals, due diligence,
within fi ve years of registration, but a company may defend its trademark
freedom-to-operate and advising on IP.
against cancellation if it can show reasonable reasons for the lack of use.
In a case before the Svea Court of Appeal, it took eight years before a
148 World Intellectual Property Review Digest 2009 www.worldipreview.com
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