Final Victory in Italy for Dutch Brewery Bavaria in Trademark Battle

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• Publié par: bavaria-n-v
• Nombre de lectures: 16
• Langue: English

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Final Victory in Italy for Dutch Brewery Bavaria in Trademark Battle

PR Newswire LIESHOUT, The Netherlands, September 24, 2012

LIESHOUT,The Netherlands,September 24, 2012/PRNewswire/ -- The Italian Court of Cassation has put a final end to the trademark conflict between the Dutch brewery Bavaria and the Bayerischer Brauerbund (BBB). After more than 6 years of litigation, in 2011 the Italian Court of Appeal already ruled that all Bavaria trademarks have priority over and do not conflict with the protected geographical indication Bayerisches Bier. Today, the Court of Cassation totally rejected the BBB appeal, which means Bavaria has finally won this battle. This victory inItalyis the next positive decision, after Bavaria's recent victories inAustraliaandSpainand the positive decisions of the European Court of Justice inLuxembourg.

Legal background

With this landmark decision, the Court of Cassation rejected entirely the BBB appeal, that was set after the decision of the Court of Appeal ofTorinothat the Bavaria figurative trademarks registered inItalybetween 1971 and 1995 have all been validly registered and their use inItalyby Bavaria for its Dutch beer is legitimate and may continue notwithstanding the registration in 2001 of the geographical indication ("PGI") Bayerisches Bier. The findings of the prior judgment issued on the merits in favour of both validity of the Bavaria figurative trademarks and of their legitimate use by Bavaria are therefore now final and indisputable. This implies that Bavaria can continue to sell inItalyits Bavaria Holland beer with no impediment from registration of the PGI Bayerisches Bier.

Important victory

Peer Swinkels, boardmember of Bavaria, commented: "After the decision of the Court of Appeal, we are very happy that the Italian Court of Cassation finally ruled that Bavaria's figurative trademarks inItalyhave all been validly registered and can be used freely. This conclusion is a great support to further building our brandname and to enhancing the perception of quality of our Bavaria-brand. We can now concentrate on continuing our business inItaly, where we have a very strong position in the imported beer market."

Bavaria worldwide

In its 300-year-old history, Bavaria has developed from a small brewery in the south ofHollandinto an international player. Nowadays, Bavaria isEurope's biggest independent brewery. Sixty percent of the six million hectolitres of beer is exported As an independent family owned company Bavaria has gained leading positions in niche markets, for examle with Malt Drinks in theMiddle-Eastt for. Exce

the beer Bavaria is internationally known for their surprising commercials starring famous actors such as Mickey Rourke, Hugh Hefner and Charlie Sheen. Besides that Bavaria is famous for the Formula-1 event Bavaria Moscow City Racing, but also for remarkable WK-gadgets, such as the orange DutchDress during the Worldcup in 2010. In 2010 Bavaria won the award for Best Marketing Effort inHolland, which was presented at the prestigious NIMA Awards. Bavaria worked together with the very well-known Italian IP boutiqueStudio LegaleJacobacci&Associati in this case, represented by Attorneys Massimo Sterpi and Luca Ghedina.