The publisher of the Asterix comics won a partial victory on Wednesday at the General Court of the European Union in a dispute over the "Obelix" trademark.
The EU court annulled a decision by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which had refused to declare invalid a trademark registered by a Polish arms company. French publisher Les Editions Albert Rene had challenged the decision. The ruling can still be appealed at the EU's Court of Justice.
The French publisher has held a registered trademark for "Obelix" since 1998 and used it on books, clothing and games.
But in 2022 the EU trademark office registered the word as a trademark for weapons and ammunition for a Polish company.
The publisher criticized the defence contractor for potentially exploiting the older trademark’s recognition and reputation and damaging its standing, noting the company references the "invincibility and superhuman strength" of Obelix, one of the main characters in the comic strip by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
The publisher had applied to the EUIPO to have the newer trademark declared invalid.
However the EUIPO rejected the publisher's request. The office argued that the renown of the older trademark had not been sufficiently proven. It also argued there is no infringement even in the case of identical trademarks if they apply to entirely different goods or services, for example comics and weapons. The authority questioned whether buyers of weapons would mentally associate their properties with those of the comic character.
The EU court rejected that reasoning, saying EUIPO's analysis was incomplete and flawed. It said the authority had failed to correctly assess evidence showing the trademark's reputational strength. Also, the court argued, the office should not have disregarded evidence showing the defence contractor's sign being used in conjunction with the "Asterix" trademark.
The Court has now referred the case back to the European Trade Mark Office for reconsideration.
