Region: Africa & Middle East

The Nigerian Trademark Office has upheld a claim by mobile telecommunications provider Vodafone that a local company had applied for the mark VODACOM in Classes 16 of the Nice Classification in bad faith in view of Vodafone?s established reputation in the mark VODACOM. A separate action to revoke the registration of VODACOM by the same party in Class 9 is pending in the courts.

13 July 2004

In <em>Cadbury Limited v Beacon Sweets and Chocolates (Pty) Ltd</em>, the registrar of trademarks has refused to register a specific shade of purple as a trademark. The registrar held that the mark, in the form in which it was represented in the application, was not capable of distinguishing chocolate confectionary pursuant to Sections 9 and 10(2)(a) of the South African Trademarks Act.

08 July 2004

In <i>Kwality Biscuits (Pty) Limited v National Brands Limited</i>, the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa has ruled that where the owner of a mark that is subject to a non-use cancellation proceeding is South African, it cannot claim that its mark is protected as a well-known mark under the Paris Convention. The court held that the well-known mark defence only applies to foreign mark owners.

21 June 2004

The Coalition Provisional Authority headed by Paul Bremer has issued a document amending the Trademarks and Descriptions Law 21 of 1957 with effect from April 26 2004. The law has been renamed Trademark and Geographical Indications Law. The amendments include a broader definition of registrable signs and more severe penalties for infringement.

15 June 2004

In <i>Wycth (sic) Holdings Corporation v Rapha Laboratories Ltd</i>, the Jerusalem District Court has dismissed the claimant's motion for an interim injunction restraining the defendant's use of LANTON for pharmaceutical products. The court held that the mark was not confusingly similar to the plaintiff's ZOTON mark.

19 May 2004

In a landmark ruling, the Tel Aviv District Court has rejected Storck KG's claim that the defendant was infringing its trademark by (i) selling chocolates whose shape was similar to that of Storck's well-known hemispherical-shaped TOFFIFEE chocolates, and (ii) using a picture of hemispherical-shaped chocolates on its packaging. The court denied that Storck owned a registration for a three-dimensional shape mark for TOFFIFEE.

13 May 2004

Saudi Arabia has acceded to the Paris Convention. The decree confirming accession highlights that most provisions of the convention have been adopted. However, the decree expresses some concern over the application of Article 7, which states that the nature of goods should not be an obstacle to registration, because some goods are banned under Islamic law.

31 March 2004

The Cape Town High Court has cleared up any uncertainty as to the scope of protection afforded by Section 34(1)(c) of the Trademarks Act against dilution of a well-known mark. It held that the provision (i) also applies to goods identical to those for which the well-known mark is registered, and (ii) can be used even in the absence of a finding of confusion.

26 March 2004

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court has allowed the concurrent use of identicaltrademarks on identical goods. It ruled that the representative in Israel of theowner of a ROTANA mark registered in Saudi Arabia had the same right to use themark in Israel as the Israeli owner of an identical mark.

26 March 2004

A directive issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, which stipulates that it will no longer allow the registration of certain imported drugs, has come into force. The directive is likely to have an impact on pharmaceutical mark owners.

17 March 2004