bulletin
Company names tribunal: First decision
18 December 2008
Following our recent bulletin relating to the
new Company Names Tribunal, Coca Cola’s claim,
one of the first made under the new procedure, has now been
heard.
The tribunal ruled that Coke Cola Limited’s name was
sufficiently similar to the name Coca Cola, and that its use in the
UK would be likely to mislead by suggesting a connection between
Coca Cola and Coke Cola Limited. It therefore ordered that Coke
Cola Limited change its name or appeal the decision by 3 January
2009.
The cost to Coca Cola of bringing the claim is unknown but it
was awarded a contribution of £700 towards its costs by the
tribunal. In addition, this decision has been given within a short
time scale (just eight weeks from the claim being brought by Coca
Cola), although this is due in part to the fact that Coke Cola
Limited chose not to file a defence and contest the claim.
Prior to the inception of the Company Names Tribunal, Coca Cola
would have had to rely on its rights of passing off and/or trade
mark infringement in order to stop Coke Cola Limited from making
the use of such name. These would have been likely to have taken a
much longer period of time to resolve and attracted higher
costs.
This result for Coca Cola highlights the helpful alternative to
passing off and trade mark infringement proceedings which is now
available to rights holders. The positive outcome will no doubt
persuade other rights holders of the benefits, both in time and
cost, of the new procedure and is likely to see the work of the
tribunal increase substantially in the coming months.
talk to us
save to PDF
The content of this bulletin is provided for the purposes of
general interest and information. It contains only brief summaries
of aspects of the subject matter and does not provide comprehensive
statements of the law. It does not constitute legal advice and does
not provide a substitute for it.