TODAY’S DECISION

The fight between Crocodile International and Lacoste had an important judgment made at The Supreme Court this week. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal of Crocodile International, and the judges awarded $25,000 in costs to Crocodile International. Lacoste will no longer be able to claim the crocodile trademark in New Zealand.

Crocodile International is incorporated in Singapore while Lacoste is based out of France, but both clothing companies use a logo with a picture of a crocodile and have argued around the globe about who gets to lay claim to it in various countries.

CASE BACKGROUND

The battle began in 20018 when Crocodile International claimed Lacoste had not genuinely used the disputed trademark and thus wanted it to be revoked. New Zealand’s assistant commissioner of trademarks agreed to this and thus started the lawsuit.

This decision was immediately appealed by Lacoste, and Justice David Collins of the High Court took Lacoste’s side. The decision of the assistant commissioner of trademarks was overturned. This led to Crocodile International going to the Court of Appeal where it was decided that the crocodile image was the “central idea and message” of the logo, not the word crocodile or the combination of the word and logo. Of course, Lacoste once again appealed this and was successful in the High Court, where Justice David Collins overturned the assistant commissioner of trademarks’ decision.

Crocodile International last year was given leave to take the case to the Supreme Court, which allowed its appeal in a decision this morning.

The country’s highest court today revoked registration of the disputed trademark from December 1999.

“Lacoste has never used the trade mark anywhere in the world. There is no reason to retain it on the register [of trade marks],” the Supreme Court said.

Whether Crocodile International or any other company can now register a similar trademark was a different question, the judge said.

Source: trademarklawyermagazine