IP Court Ruled Cancellation against Registered Trademark
2009/08/11 TaiwanOn November 26, 2008, the IP Court in Taiwan made its unprecedented ruling (since the establishment of IP Court on July 1, 2008) of canceling a trademark previously granted for registration by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office.
The said lawsuit was brought against the Japanese multinational corporation, Fujitsu General Limited (Fujitsu) by the Finnish mobile phone giant, Nokia Corporation (Nokia). With the reason of that the defendant’s registered trademark “nocria” was simply the first half of reversed spelling of “air conditioner”, and lacked creativity and distinctiveness, Nokia claimed that the defendant’s registered trademark “nocria” was similar to its internationally renowned trademark “NOKIA” and would cause the consumers’ confusion of recognition. After examining the related evidence and noting the claimant’s plan of diversification of operation, the IP Court concluded that the two said trademarks were similar and ordered to approve the cancellation against the defendant’s trademark.
The said decision was subject for further appeal.
Organized and translated by Tony Chen
International Affairs
