MOSCOW, September 16 (RAPSI, Ingrid Burke) – The General Court of the European Union (EU Court) held in favor of the Berlin Zoo Monday in a trademark case centering on Knut, the celebrity polar bear whose high-profile birth and untimely death stole the hearts of fans around the world.

Knut was born in captivity at the Berlin Zoo in December 2006. Having been abruptly rejected by his own mother, he was left to the care of a zookeeper, according to Spiegel Online.

A celebrity from birth, the young bear became the poster child for the protection of polar bears in the context of Global Warming, according to a 2007 press release announcing the publication of the book Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World.

Then in 2011, tragedy struck when Knut died suddenly in his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo. In a statement released at the time, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Berlin Zoos Frank Bruckmann lamented: “This bear not only charmed the people of Berlin, but he also won hearts worldwide.”

The EU judges held Monday that the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM) was correct in refusing the registration of KNUT – DER EISBÄR, which is German for Knut – the polar bear, as a Community trademark.

According to a statement released by the court Monday, in 2007 the UK company Knut IP Management Ltd. applied to OHIM “for registration of the word sign KNUT – DER EISBÄR as a Community trademark for, inter alia, paper and cardboard goods, clothing, shoes and helmets, sports articles and activities.”

The Berlin Zoo opposed the application, claiming that the trademark would cause confusion with the KNUD trademark, which it already held.

According to the statement, “A likelihood of confusion exists where the public could believe that the goods or services with respect to which the trademarks at issue are used come from the same undertaking or from economically-linked undertakings.”

OHIM agreed with the Berlin Zoo, finding that the similarity of the words as well as of the products sought to be included under the trademarks could cause confusion.

This decision was based on the findings that the goods and services involved are “in part, identical and, in part, similar.” Furthermore, the signs at issue were highly similar, based on the identical beginnings of the trademarks.

On Monday the EU Court dismissed Knut IP Management Ltd.’s action against the OHIM decision.