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Court Invalidates NH HOTELES Trademark Registration
By VERA ABOGADOS
In a recent ruling, a Colombian Court has overturned the registration of the mixed trademark NH HOTELES for "Restaurant Services (Food); Temporary Lodging" in Class 43 of the Nice International Classification. The decision comes following a meticulous examination of the trademarks NH HOTELES and BH, where the court highlighted significant orthographic and phonetic similarities between them.
The court's scrutiny also revealed a compelling connection between the services covered by the trademarks. This finding underscored the applicability of the ground for non-registrability outlined in literal a) of Article 136 of Decision 486 of 2000 of the Andean Community.
Moreover, the court noted the involvement of a third party with a direct interest in the outcome of the case, who successfully demonstrated a family of trademarks featuring the common distinctive element "nH." This pivotal discovery further emphasized the potential risk of confusion.
The ruling serves as a reminder of the importance of distinctiveness and clarity in trademark registration. It reinforces the legal framework's commitment to safeguarding consumers and maintaining fair competition in the marketplace.
Vera Abogados
VERA ABOGADOS ASOCIADOS S.A.-, is a Colombian law firm with specialized lawyers, Founded more than 40 years ago, by Jorge E. Vera Vargas, Doctor in Law and Political Sciences of the La Gran Colombia University in Bogota D.C., Colombia. At present, with principal offices in the city of Bogota D.C., and offices in the cities of Cali, Medellin, Barranquilla, at national level, and at an international level in Ecuador and Panama.
The Firm is today a reference in the Andean Community, and it makes part of important international affiliations such as PRAGMA, EEIG. International Network of Law Firm, The International Trademark Association (INTA), Asociación Interamericana de Propiedad Industrial (ASIPI), Associação Brasileira da Propriedade Intelectual (ABPI), and the Chamber of Industrial Property Agents of the Republic of Argentina(CAPIRA).
VERA ABOGADOS ASOCIADOS S.A. offers professional services to prestigious Colombian and foreign companies in the following juridical areas: Industrial property, Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights, New Technologies, Disloyal Competition, Commercial Practices, Sanitary Rights, Community Right, Administrative law, Tax Law, Corporate Right and Foreign Investment and Business Rights.
The Firm offers of equal way a service of integral consultancy in Foreign Commerce, Business administration, Finance and Accountancy. The team is made up of specialized lawyers in each of the workspaces and expert multilingual professionals (Spanish, English and French) that respond with efficiency and competitiveness to the needs and demands of our customers around the world.