Names Were Not to be Used as Trademarks?　Administrative Court Rendered the IPR Office to Handle Differently.

An Italian merchant Giovanni Valentino applied for trademark registration of his name “GIOVANNI VALENTINO” to the Intellectual Property Right Office. However, the application was denied on account of “concerns for causing public confusion and misunderstanding”. In consequence, a lawsuit was filed to Taipei High Administrative Court.

 

Giovanni Valentino contended that “Valentino” was a common last name in Italian, and there were a lot of Italian businessmen doing trade and marketing around the world with Italian last names as trademarks. Giovanni believed that it was insufficient and inappropriate for the IPR Office to decline his trademark registration simply because the IPR Office reckoned “GIOVANNI VALENTINO” was similar to the “VALENTINO” registered by Netherlands-based, Valentino International Co., Ltd. and may result in confusion.

 

The administrative court discovered after trial that Valentino was a very common last name in Italy, and “using it as a trademark may weaken its protection.” Furthermore, the IPR Office has approved several trademark applications with “Valentino” marks. Clearly, the consumers may distinguish so long as they pay attention. Thus, the IRP Office was rendered to handle the case differently. (2004.11)

CYJ/CHT