European Court sets “positive precedent” on copy-cat advertising, say advertisers
23 Jun 2009
Cosmetics firm L’Oreal has won a landmark case in Europe against another company which had been marketing obvious imitations of its well-known fragrances.
In a ruling that the UK advertiser body ISBA says sets a “positive precedent”, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the use of competitors’ trademarks in certain forms of comparative, or “copy-cat”, advertising is not allowed.
Bellure, a Belgian firm, was manufacturing products that were very similar to some of L'Oréal's best-selling perfume brands, but sold them at a much lower price. As well as using similar packaging and logos to those employed by L'Oréal, the smaller firm was also directly comparing the cost of its own goods with the French company's equivalent products.
In its 18 June ruling, the Court held that Bellure was unfairly seeking to "exploit, without paying any financial compensation, the marketing efforts expended by the proprietor of the mark."
It also established that “explicitly or implicitly” marketing a product as an imitation of another well-known trade mark using comparative advertising constituted a breach of the EU’s 1984 Comparative Advertising Directive.
ISBA Public Affairs Director Ian Twinnsaid: “UK marketers and trademark holders will welcome this ruling from the ECJ as it sets a positive precedent for the interpretation of European law on comparative advertising.
“We would now expect to see the ruling used to help prevent such unfair copy-cat advertising in the future.”
