Red Bull FZE, the regional representative office of the Austrian energy drink, has won a lawsuit against a United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) importer for selling a competitor product, Bullfighter. The importer, who was found guilty of trademark infringement, was fined 15,000 Emirati dirhams ($4,088).
Red Bull is a registered trademark in the UAE. The Red Bull registered trademark reserves exclusive rights to the product’s distinctive logo, name, symbol and design, which identify and distinguish it from other products. In this case, Red Bull argued that the competitor was misleading customers into believing that its product was a Red Bull product or was endorsed by Red Bull due to its similar name and packaging, and hence carried the benefits and qualities that Red Bull offers.
Ultimately, the court took the view that the competitor had intentionally adopted a product, which appropriated part of the trade or reputation of Red Bull, and had attempted to capitalize on Red Bull’s reputation, effective marketing and significant market share.
Selim Chidiac, Red Bull’s regional director, commented: “Red Bull strives to protect our loyal consumers from being misled into purchasing products that do not conform to our impeccable standards and high-quality stringent scientific testing.”
“We would also like to congratulate the local UAE judicial system for how seriously they treat trademark infringement cases. This is good news, both for the manufacturers, who stand to lose revenue, and for consumers who are misled into purchasing products they believe to be the genuine article, but which are in fact poor imitations.” Chidiac added. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
