Division 2 of the National Court of Appeals on Federal Civil and
Commercial Matters reversed the lower court's decision that had
ordered Pepsico de Argentina to stop using trademark
"NACHOS!" and admitted defendant's counterclaim
requesting that said registration be cancelled.
Pepsico de Argentina used the expression "DORITOS
NACHOS" to identify its seasoned corn tortilla chips. Cerealko
S.A., owner of the trademark "NACHOS!" in International
class 30, filed a lawsuit against Pepsico de Argentina seeking to
enjoin such use. The appellate court stated that an expression may
be considered as the usual designation of a product or service when
it is so used in the ordinary language of the country's
inhabitants, regardless of the criteria of Spanish language
institutions and of its inclusion in language dictionaries. In this
particular case, the word "NACHOS", originated in Mexico,
had a specific meaning in Argentina that referred to
"small triangular toasts made of cornmeal, originally from
Mexico, which are usually eaten with diverse sauces".
Therefore, the court considered that there was no legal impediment
for Pepsico de Argentina to continue using such word jointly with
its trademark "DORITOS".
The court also declared the trademark "NACHOS!" null
and void on the basis that it was not proved that such term had
become the usual designation of the product after plaintiff's
application for "NACHOS!" was filed in 1999.
This decision was rendered on December 22, 2011 in re
"Cerealko S.A. c/ Pepsico de Argentina
S.R.L."
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
Specific Questions relating to this article should be addressed directly to the author.
The Brazilian Patent & Trademark Office has recently opened a new Public Consultation, this time on the draft guidelines for the examination of patent applications in the biotechnology field.
FIFA special procedures for the organization and staging of these events, currently regulated by Law nr. 12.663, dated 05/06/2012, better known as the "World Cup General Law".
Sports arouse passions all over the world and influence behaviors and social values. Sports competitions mobilize the collectivity: the higher the social interest, the greater the public and their projection will be.
The Industrial Property Law effective in Honduras was approved
by Decree No 12-99-E. Its dispositions are of public order and
have, inter alia, the objective of preventing acts against
industrial property or acts that constitute unfair competition.
As part of its long-term plan of creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas, the United States is building smaller trade blocs through bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements. The first such agreement was the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which came into force on January 1, 1994.
Twitter
Facebook
Digg 
