Ferrero takes on UEFA over EM 2008 mark

Ferrero files cancellation against UEFA's EM 2008 mark It looks as if Ferrero, a maker of chocolates (i.a. kinder products), has learnt its lesson from the FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006. As can be seen from OHIM's website, FERRERO has recently (14 August 2007) filed a cancellation action against UEFA's EM 2008 word mark (CTM 004905411), registered for the marketing of the upcoming 2008 European Football Championships to be held in Austria and Switzerland. The mark is registered for a wide variety of goods, from dispensers of kitchen towels to vehicle lubrication. It is meant to secure the EURO 2008's official sponsors the exclusivity they pay for. However, in German speaking countries, EM stands for Europameisterschaft (European Championship). It is used as a generic abbreviation for any European championship from boxing to snooker. So EM 2008 could well be be considered a generic term for a European Football Championship by German (and Austrian) standards. Ferrero's fight against the attempts by organizers of international sports events to secure extensive protection for their trademarks and logos has something of a tradition. In April 2006, when FIFA's enforcement of its Fußball WM 2006 mark (for Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft, German for Football World Cup) was at its nastiest, it obtained the cancellation of the mark before the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH). In a parallel decision, Ferrero also obtained the reversal of the Federal Patent Court's decision not to cancel the trademark WM 2006 (for Weltmeisterschaft 2006, or World Cup 2006) for most of the goods claimed, in particular for everyday consumer goods (I won't list them in detail here, the list of goods and services fills 10 of the decision's 37 pages...). Not without a cause: Ferrero has a long tradition of including collectible photos of players of the German Mannschaft with two of its most popular chocolate products (duplo, hanuta) before important tournaments such as World Cups and European Championships, usually featuring the competition's name on it. A very interesting side aspect of the story is that FERRERO is actually an official sponsor of the UEFA European Football Championships in Austria and Switzerland in 2008. So on the face of it, Ferrero may actually be acting against its own interests in cancelling the mark. Another cancellation is pending against the UEFA's EURO 2008 mark (CTM 003410529), filed by Julius Erdmann Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH based in Cologne.

Looking at UEFA's CTM portfolio and pending applications, one may be tempted to think that there are more marks that may face cancellation actions, if and when they are registered. Word marks such as POLAND UKRAINE 2012 (CTM 005760012), CROATIA HUNGARY 2012 (CTM 005759956) or ITALIA 2012 (CTM 005759725) , but also EURO 2012 (CTM 004327854) and EURO 2…