EUIPO invalidates the “La Mafia” trademark used by some restaurants and fast-food chains
4 April 2016UEIPO Rules Out LA MAFIA Trademark is Null
8 November 2016Mars Inc. has lost a trademark dispute in Sweden over m&m’s trademark
If no appeal would be filed by Mars, it is supposed to use the capital M&M logo in Sweden starting from July 2016.
A Swedish court has ruled that Mars Inc. can no longer use its m&m’s trademark in lower case lettering to advertise it’s famous brand of colorful button-shaped chocolates with letter “m” printed in lower case on one side.
According to the Swedish court the logo is too similar to the single “m” already used in Sweden by American food and drinks company Mondelez International to identify its Marabou M Peanut Brand. Mondelez Int. also owns the Cadbury and Toblerone brands.
If no appeal would be filed by Mars, it is supposed to use the capital M&M logo in Sweden starting from July 2016.
Mars Inc. believed no confusion existed between two products due to the differences in their taste, shape, packaging and fame.
Mondelez Int. has affirmed that they were satisfied by the Swedish court ruling. The Court’s actual decision introduces an important precedent that underlines the relevance of trademarks and of their protection.
The two companies relationship issues start nearly 30 years ago. In fact, in 1989 an agreement reached between the two companies said that Mars would not sell M&M’s in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The agreement expired in 1999 and was not extended. In 2009 Mars introduced M&M’s in Sweden.
Mondelez (that up until 2012 was known as Kraft, the year it was spun off from the Kraft Foods Group) is not new to trademark disputes. In January 2016 Nestlé has lost its case to trademark the finger shape of ots KitKat bars. The Court of Justice if the EU with their sentence C 215-14 ruled that a Norwegian bar, called Kvikk Lunsj, was entitled to use the same shape.
