MOSCOW, December 3 (RAPSI) – South Korean firm BullsOne Co., Ltd. has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a decision of Russian patent agency (Rospatent) cancelling legal protection of the plaintiff’s trademark on the request of Red Bull energy drink company, the Intellectual Property Court’s (IP Court's) documents read.
The decision was issued on July 25. Back then Rospatent refused to grant legal protection to the trademark of BullsOne registered internationally in May 2011. Rospatent came to conclusion that BullsOne’s trademark used in automobile, chemical and other industries, misleads consumers.
The plaintiff, in turn, believes that its trademark with an image of one red bull over the shield is different from Red Bull’s image of two red bulls over a circle, preventing confusion.
Rospatent noted that trademark of the Red Bull is protected as commonly known in Russia. Images used by both companies were found to be similar in shape and color. In addition, Red Bull is involved in automobile racing and owns racing teams resulting in association between its trademark and automobile sport among Russians leading to potential confusion by consumers, Rospatent decided.