Baltika Breweries has filed a lawsuit with the Intellectual Property Court against Rospatent for refusing to register a new trademark for its line of energy drinks.
The trademark includes an image of a roaring tiger and text elements: T.G.R., Power, Energy. Rospatent based its refusal on several grounds. Firstly, the word “Force” has already been registered by another company, which could lead to confusion among consumers. Secondly, the word “Energy” is not protected by law because it is widely used and is not sufficiently unique. Rospatent also noted that the elements Force, Energy and T.G.R. are formed in different styles and have no semantic connection, which prevents them from being perceived as a single name.
Vera Zotova, Senior Associate in the intellectual property and information technology practice at Nordic Star Law Firm, estimates Baltika’s chances of success to be moderate: “If the company manages to obtain the consent of the owner of a similar trademark, this will increase the likelihood of a successful registration. Otherwise, the refusal may stand”.
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