Action for cancellation of building board mark falls flat

The Harju County Court has dismissed an action for the cancellation of the trademark LUJA on the grounds of non-use (Case 2-07-32895, July 10 2008).

 

Richardi Rahvusvahelise Kaubanduse OÜ (RRK) filed an application for the registration of the trademark LUJA PLAAT for “building materials, except building boards made of fibre cement” in Class 19 of the Nice Classification. The Estonian Patent Office rejected the application on the grounds that the mark applied for was confusingly similar to the earlier trademark LUJA for “building boards made of fibre cement” in Class 19, which was registered by Finnish company Oy Minerit in 1997.

 

RRK subsequently filed an action for the cancellation of the trademark LUJA with the Harju County Court on the grounds that the mark had not been used in Estonia during a period of five years. This argument was based on information available on the website of the franchisee of Oy Minerit in Estonia.

 

Alternatively, RRK requested that the court allow the registration of the trademark LUJA PLAAT.

 

In its defence, Oy Minerit argued that it had used the trademark LUJA in Estonia during the relevant period. It presented the following evidence:

The court concluded that the evidence was adequate and refused to remove the trademark from the register. The court did not deem it necessary to review the alternative claim.