Beer and spirits
Donald Trump, through his company DTTM Operations, had objected to Lindner’s registration. The German had applied for the Trump trademark not only for condoms, but also for beer and spirits. The former U.S. president did not like it and invoked his own European trademark registrations of the Trump brand for hotels, golf clubs, restaurants and bars, among others.
Liquor confusion
Since restaurants and bars naturally have a clear connection to beer and liquor, EUIPO believed that Linder’s registration for these products could not go ahead. That could be confusing. However, things are different for condoms. A golf club or hotel basically has little to do with condoms so there will be no risk of confusion, EUIPO said.
Reputation trademark Trump
But Trump had more strings on his bow. He also invoked the great reputation of the Trump brand. In trademark law, there is a rule that if your trademark is well-known or has a reputation, you can, under certain circumstances, take action against similar trademarks that have been applied for different goods or services.
Trademark not known
But that’s where it went wrong. Sure, the person Trump is world famous, but that does not mean that the Trump trademark for hotels and golf clubs is also well known. Despite the piles of evidence of reputation that Trump threw over the fence at EUIPO, the trademark office did not want it. Trump is a world-famous man, but not a famous trademark for hotels and golf clubs. And so the condom goes free. I wonder how Stormy Daniels views this ruling.
Bas Kist
