Trademark law
It is important to understand the basics of trademark law. A trademark is a sign that serves as a source function. This can be a word, image, a combination of these, a color combination, a sound or even a shape.
A trademark right only comes into saudi arabia business email list existence after registration with the relevant office. For registration, it is mandatory to indicate for which goods and/or services the trademark should be registered. Only these goods and/or services are then protected under the trademark. This means that the same word can be registered twice as a trademark by different parties, as long as it is not for the same goods and/or services (Article 8 UMVo). An example of this is Venti for shirts and Venti for smartphones.
This knowledge is mainly important for marketers, communication experts and anyone who comes up with a new concept, logo or brand. It is of course a waste if a lot of time and energy is invested in a new design or concept, and in the end it turns out that it cannot be used. It is also important for creatives to take into account trademark law.
Exception: well-known brands
Of course, there are exceptions to the basic rules. One of these exceptions is the well-known trademark. If the trademark owner can demonstrate that his trademark is a 'well-known' trademark in the relevant territory, the trademark will be better protected.
A well-known trademark can take action against an identical or similar sign that is applied for for other goods and/or services (Article 8(5) EUTM Regulation). To do so, the holder of the trademark must be able to demonstrate that its trademark is well-known, that the signs are identical or similar, that the applied-for sign damages its reputation and that the use of the applied-for trademark must be without valid reason. This is quite a mouthful of legal jargon, but some things will become clearer on the basis of the case below.