經通國際智慧產權事務所

On February 4, 2010, the Intellectual Property Court (IP Court) ordered the trademark opposition filed against trademark registration no. 1285512 bearing “DAMPER KIDS” to be reexamined by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO).

The trademark application bearing “DAMPER KIDS” with the designated goods of handbags, suitcases, purses, etc. was filed by Taipei Financial Center Corp. on January 30, 2007 and granted to be published on November 1, 2007. Subsequently, the famous Spanish company CAMPER, S.L. (Camper) filed an opposition against the said trademark, but the TIPO then issued a rejection against the said opposition.

Camper did not give up, and filed an appeal with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). In June 2009, the MOEA issued the decision of invalidating the previous rejection issued by the TIPO and ordered the TIPO to reexamine the said opposition. Taipei Financial Center Corp. then filed an administrative lawsuit with the IP Court against the said decision by the MOEA.

In the decision made by the IP Court, the IP Court pointed out that the previous rejection issued by the TIPO was based on the reason of that the disputed trademark is not similar to Camper’s trademarks, and the previous decision made by the MOEA was based on the reason of that even though the disputed trademark and Camper’s trademarks have different pronunciations and meanings, the disputed trademark and Camper’s trademarks would appear to be similar under the environment of busy trading, and thus should be similar. As a result, the IP Court ordered the TIPO to reexamine the said opposition.

Organized and translated by James Tsai

International Affairs