Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. New York and Les Publications Condé Nast SA Paris which publish the famous magazine “Vogue” have won in Switzerland against a local company which manufactured wristwatches branded “Vogue”.
The Supreme Court has therefore ordained that, although the wristwatches being produced were completely different products from a magazine, the fame of the trademark Vogue was so much that it made it possible for it to be defended even in unrelated sectors. This decision is consistent with another previous one taken by the swiss court, which considered as forgery the use of the trademark “Nike” on perfumes by a company.
As everybody knows, a trademark protection is limited to those products that use it and with which it has been registered. Very famous trademarks are an exception to this rule which benefit from an extended protection. The limitations of this protection are however often under discussion.
The swiss court has taken into consideration a market survey which stated that one citizen out of four knew the trademark Vogue very well and linked it to the high quality magazine. The fact that a third party used “Vogue” to brand its wristwatches has been considered illegal both as it was forgery of a well-known trademark and as unfair competition. It is indeed not fair to take advantage of the fame of another trademark in order to sell their own products not linked to the brand.
It’s an important victory and not very obvious than what it might seem at a first glance.