Verstappen arguments
During the opposition proceedings initiated by Nike, Verstappen put forward all kinds of arguments as to why his Max 1 trademark doesn’t resemble Nike’s Air Max trademark. In the first place, according to Verstappen, there is a difference in the pronunciation of the two. Moreover, the emphasis in both brands is on ‘1’ and ‘Air’ and not on Max, according to the courier. And what makes the trademarks completely different, according to Verstappen, is that with Max 1, you mainly think of his world-famous first name in combination with his race number, while in Air Max, the Max part refers much more to the adjective ‘maximum’.
Confusion
BOIP patiently listened to everything and then simply pushed Max’s arguments aside. Despite all his careful arguments, BOIP believes that Max 1 and Air Max are just so similar that there is a risk that consumers will be confused. “Since it is common practice in the clothing sector for the same trademark to be used in different ways, the relevant public could also think that the contested sign is a sub-mark of the opponent (Nike),” said BOIP. No registration for clothing for Max 1.
Bas Kist
