Telecommunications firm defends its trademark against rival

A telecommunications firm has defended its trademark against infringement by a rival that adopted a similar name and logo.

The case involved the company COREIX, which registered its name and mark in 2010 for telecommunication and computer services. In 2013, another company registered the mark CORETX in a different business sector.

However, in 2016, CORETX was acquired by another telecommunication and computer services company, which registered the name and associated logo for all its activities. It launched its new mark at an industry event.

COREIX objected saying the name and logo were too similar and so infringed its registered trademark. It also claimed that the use would cause confusion among customers and amounted to passing off.

The court found in favour of COREIX.

It held that there was strong likelihood of confusion. There was only one letter difference between the names, and consumers generally paid more attention to the beginning of marks than the end. The logos were also very similar and the names sounded very much the same.

The services for which the CORETX mark was registered were identical to those for which the COREIX mark had been registered or used. The registration of CORETX was therefore invalid.

The passing off claim also succeeded because COREIX had been able to prove misrepresentation and damage.

Please contact Jon Alvarez if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of trademarks, intellectual property and protecting your business.