Federal Court of Justice grants protection for "Post" brand
The registered trademark “Post” will continue to be protected by law. This follows a ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in which it upheld an appeal by Deutsche Post against the revoking of its “Post” trademark.
Almost 85 per cent of German consumers associate the term “post” with Deutsche Post.
Competitors of Deutsche Post had filed opposition to registration of the brand and in April 2007 they were successful in this endeavor before the German Federal Patent Court.
The decision by the Federal Court of Justice overturns that ruling.
The term “Post” was registered with the German Federal Patent and Trademark Office in 2003 as a so-called word mark of Deutsche Post. The background to this registration was a report which found that 84.6 per cent of consumers associated the term “Post” with Deutsche Post.
In June of this year the Federal Court of Justice ruled in two specific cases on how protection of the “Post” trademark should be interpreted in practice. They ruled that use of the term “Post” by competitors of Deutsche Post was only admissible in cases where they provided appropriate additional information in their business correspondence or advertising.
It was not, however, admissible to combine the word “Post” with other distinctive elements such as the color yellow or the post horn symbol which would increase the risk of confusion with the Deutsche Post brand.
The registered trademark “Post” will continue to be protected by law. This follows a ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in which it upheld an appeal by Deutsche Post against the revoking of its “Post” trademark.
Almost 85 per cent of German consumers associate the term “post” with Deutsche Post.
Competitors of Deutsche Post had filed opposition to registration of the brand and in April 2007 they were successful in this endeavor before the German Federal Patent Court.
The decision by the Federal Court of Justice overturns that ruling.
The term “Post” was registered with the German Federal Patent and Trademark Office in 2003 as a so-called word mark of Deutsche Post. The background to this registration was a report which found that 84.6 per cent of consumers associated the term “Post” with Deutsche Post.
In June of this year the Federal Court of Justice ruled in two specific cases on how protection of the “Post” trademark should be interpreted in practice. They ruled that use of the term “Post” by competitors of Deutsche Post was only admissible in cases where they provided appropriate additional information in their business correspondence or advertising.
It was not, however, admissible to combine the word “Post” with other distinctive elements such as the color yellow or the post horn symbol which would increase the risk of confusion with the Deutsche Post brand.
