Plaintiff: BlackBerry Limited
Defendant: Crowdberry a.s.
Case no.: R2421/2018-1
Jurisdiction: European Union
Industry: Technology
Decision date: 04 Sep, 2020
When used on the same market or adjacent market sectors, namely in connection with IT related services, the mark applied for may bring to the minds of consumers the earlier reputed mark. It will be recognised exactly because of the earlier mark’s intrinsic distinctiveness and the special brand attributes acquired through use, in the sense that it reflects the aforementioned appealing images. These circumstances could positively influence the choice of the consumer as regards IT and business related services of other producers and providers. This may stimulate the sales of the applicant’s services to an extent which may be disproportionately high in comparison with the size of their own promotional investment and thus lead to the unacceptable situation where the applicant is allowed to take a ‘free-ride’ on the investment of the opponent in promoting and building up good will for its mark.
BLACKBERRY
Crowdberry
