This Wednesday, the General Court of the European Union ruled in favor of Sumol+Compal Marcas in a dispute with the French company Boiron frères over the use of the word ‘fruitology’.
According to a statement, the General Court contradicts a previous decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), considering that the brands “present a medium degree of visual similarity” and that Sumol+Compal’s ‘fruitology’, registered in 2017, has eight letters in common and in the same order from ‘fruitology’, registered by Boiron frères in 2020.
Thus, the failure confirms accusations of Sumol+Compal Marcasaccording to which the brands have a medium degree of similarity at a visual, phonetic and conceptual level.
The statement also highlights that, taking into account the identity or similarity of the services in question, “the high coincidence between the invented words ‘frutologia’ and ‘fruitology’ overcomes the differences between the signs in conflict”.
The EUIPO had considered, in June 2023, that there was no risk of confusion between the two brands, a decision that the Portuguese company appealed.
HE Boiron frères asked for the protection of the word ‘frutology’ for a range of services related to education in the field of cooking, while Sumol+Compal Marcas had already registered the ‘Centro de Frutología’ brand for various education and teaching services.
Source: Observadora
