Taking back control of the use of a world famous trade mark

Well-known trade mark and famous Transport Operator

Our client owns a trade mark whose reputation goes beyond its passenger transport business.
As this trademark is so well-known, it is often used up by companies wishing to convey a luxury image; unfortunately, they do not always having licence to do so...
Our Solution

Our client was eager to strengthen the high-end positioning of its brand, and gave us the task of stopping any illicit use that could undermine this strategy.

To that end, we started by producing a list all the products and services that were using our client’s trade mark without consent.

We then notified all of the companies, both French as well as foreign, requiring that they cease all use of this trade mark and remove the disputed products from the market.

In the vast majority of cases, these companies were cooperative. Unfortunately, some tried to resist, sometimes arguing reliance on old agreements they had entered into with our client. We understood the need to avoid litigation in the first instance, which would have delayed the removal of products and did not fit our strategy.

Outcome

In just over a year, and with several dozen files opened, we succeeded in improving our client’s situation, getting many counterfeit products withdrawn from the market.

Our client was thus able to make its investments without worry, reassured that the strengthening of its high-end brand was not being compromised by unauthorised and perhaps low-end use.