Hershey's takes over REESE'S registration

In The Hershey Company v Darvish Baghal Food Industries Company (Judgment No 910 9970 22630 1133, Case No 9109 9802 2630 0356), the Public Court of Tehran, Third Branch, has held that the registration of the trademark REESE’S by an Iranian company had been made in bad faith and constituted an act of unfair competition.

The Hershey Company (Hershey's) filed an application for the registration of the trademark REESE’S in Iran. The Iranian Trademarks Office refused the application, citing a registration for an identical mark in Classes 21, 29, 30, 32, 35 and 39 of the Nice Classification, owned by Darvish Baghal Food Industries Company, an Iranian company.

Hershey's brought an action for the cancellation of the cited registration on the grounds of bad faith and unfair competition. Hershey’s also claimed that its mark was famous worldwide and was registered in other member states of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

The court found that the registration of REESE’S by the Iranian company had been made in bad faith and constituted an act of unfair competition. It ordered the cancellation of the cited trademark and the registration of REESE’S in the name of Hershey's.

The court decision was a default judgment, as the defendant failed to respond during the proceedings. The judgment then became final, as the defendant also failed to appeal the cancellation verdict.

The court's judgment was published in the Official Gazette on August 12 2013.

Mohammad Badamchi, HAMI Legal Services, Tehran