Last Friday, the UK Court of Appeal delivered its judgment1 in the much-discussed trade mark case between Athleta and Athlecia.
Athleta had appealed the first instance decision2 of Deputy High Court Judge David Stone. The appeal covered several grounds, including revocation, trade mark infringement and passing off.
Key Points from the Judgment:
- No infringement or passing off by use of the ATHLECIA word mark in relation to clothing, hereunder athletic wear, considering the weekly distinct and allusive sign “athleta”.
- Revocation appeal dismissed
- Infringement and passing off found only in relation to two of Athlecia’s specific word-and-logo combination marks, whereas the logo mark – in itself – was confirmed to be non-infringing.
Other than being an exquisitely detailed and finely balanced decision on the low degree of protection for weakly distinctive word and figurative trademarks, this decision cements Sports Group Denmark liberty to continue using the ATHLECIA brand in the UK – with only a logo refresh – which represents a significant outcome for the Danish power house’s business and brand strategy.
Danish High Court litigators Thomas Kruse Lie and Anne-Sofie Hilligsøe co-ordinated the litigation on behalf of Sports Group Denmark, and a big thank you to the remainder of our impressive legal team: Mark Vanhegan KC and Jamie Muir Wood, instructed by Waterfront Law (Piers Strickland and Francesca Wright).