THE EU GENERAL COURT CONFIRMS THE INVALIDITY OF THE TRADEMARK ‘NEYMAR’ REGISTERED BY A THIRD PARTY TO THE FAMOUS FOOTBALL PLAYER

20/06/2019

On May 14, 2019, the General Court of the European Union (Case T-795/17) dismissed the appeal brought by Mr. Carlos Moreira against the decision of EUIPO upholding the application for a declaration of invalidity of the trademark “Neymar”, brought by the football player Neymar Da Silva Santos Júnior (Neymar).

 

In 2013, Mr. Moreira registered the European word trademark ‘NEYMAR’ for clothing, footwear and headgear. A few years later, the well-known football player Neymar filed an application for invalidity of the trademark on the ground of bad faith, pursuant to Article 59(1)(B) of Regulation 2017/1001, which the Cancellation Division of EUIPO granted in 2016. That decision, challenged by Mr. Moreira, was further confirmed by the second Board of Appeal of EUIPO, which ruled on the appeal in 2017.

Mr. Moreira therefore brought an action before the General Court of the European Union for annulment of the EUIPO’s decision to appeal on several grounds. Although he was aware of the existence of the player at the time of the application for the trademark ‘NEYMAR’, Mr. Moreira claimed that he had not been aware of his international reputation, since the player in question had not yet arrived in Europe; in his view, purely phonetic reasons had led him to choose the sign ‘NEYMAR’.

According to the applicant, bad faith could only have been recognized in the registration of the trademark if the procedure had continued despite the opposition of the footballer, which was not the case here. Moreover, when the application was filed, the name NEYMAR was neither protected as a trademark nor used as such.

The grounds put forward by the applicant were not considered convincing by the EU General Court, which rejected the appeal on May 14, 2019 and upheld the decision of EUIPO declaring the trademark ‘NEYMAR’ invalid.

In first place, the evidence presented by Neymar in the proceedings before EUIPO shows that the Brazilian football player was known internationally by his given name, and that he was famous in Europe, for his performance with the Brazilian national team, several years before his transfer to FC Barcelona in 2013 and, in particular, before the date of filing of the trademark application.

Secondly, the applicant Mr. Moreira had a qualified knowledge of the world of football, having also filed, on the same day, a trademark application for the sign “IKER CASILLAS”, which is the name of another famous Spanish football player. Given the applicant’s knowledge of the world of football, and given the coincidence between the trade mark ‘Neymar’ and the name of the football player, it is impossible that Mr. Moreira was not aware of the existence of the football player at the time of filing the application for registration of the contested trademark.


IL TRIBUNALE UE CONFERMA LA NULLITÀ DEL MARCHIO ‘NEYMAR’ REGISTRATO DA UN SOGGETTO TERZO RISPETTO AL FAMOSO CALCIATORE

20/06/2019

Il 14 maggio 2019 il Tribunale dell’Unione Europea (causa T-795/17) ha rigettato il ricorso presentato dal Sig. Carlos Moreira avverso la decisione dell’EUIPO che accoglieva la domanda di nullità del marchio “Neymar” proposta dal calciatore Neymar Da Silva Santos Júnior (Neymar).

 

Nel 2013 il sig. Moreira registrava il marchio denominativo europeo “NEYMAR” per articoli di abbigliamento, calzature e cappelleria. Qualche anno dopo, il noto calciatore Neymar proponeva domanda di nullità del marchio per malafede ai sensi dell’art. 59.1 lett. B del Regolamento 2017/1001, domanda che la Divisione Annullamento dell’EUIPO accoglieva nel 2016. Tale decisione, impugnata dal sig. Moreira, veniva ulteriormente confermata dalla seconda Commissione di ricorso dell’EUIPO, chiamata a pronunciarsi sull’appello nel 2017.
Il sig. Moreira ha dunque presentato ricorso avanti al Tribunale dell’Unione Europea per l’annullamento della decisione d’appello dell’EUIPO, adducendo diversi argomenti. Sebbene egli fosse stato a conoscenza dell’esistenza del calciatore al momento della presentazione della domanda di marchio “NEYMAR”, Moreira ha sostenuto di non avere avuto contezza della sua fama internazionale, poiché il calciatore in questione non era ancora approdato in Europa; a suo dire, ragioni esclusivamente fonetiche lo avevano portato alla scelta del segno ‘NEYMAR’.
Secondo il ricorrente, si sarebbe potuta ravvisare malafede nella registrazione del marchio solamente se la procedura fosse proseguita nonostante l’opposizione del calciatore, cosa che nel caso di specie non era avvenuta. Oltretutto, alla data di proposizione della domanda il nome NEYMAR non era né protetto come marchio né utilizzato come tale.
Le ragioni addotte dal ricorrente non sono state ritenute convincenti dal Tribunale UE, che lo scorso 14 maggio 2019 ha rigettato il ricorso, confermando la decisione dell’EUIPO che sanciva la nullità del marchio ‘NEYMAR’.
In primo luogo, dalle evidenze presentate da Neymar nell’ambito del procedimento avanti all’EUIPO, risulta che il calciatore brasiliano fosse conosciuto a livello internazionale con il suo nome di battesimo e che fosse famoso in Europa, per le sue performance con la nazionale brasiliana, già diversi anni prima del suo trasferimento al FC Barcellona nel 2013 e, in particolare, prima della data di deposito della domanda di marchio.
In secondo luogo, il ricorrente aveva una conoscenza qualificata del mondo del calcio, avendo presentato lo stesso giorno una domanda di marchio per il segno “IKER CASILLAS”, nome di un altro famoso calciatore spagnolo. Vista la conoscenza del mondo del calcio da parte del ricorrente, e vista la coincidenza tra il marchio “Neymar” e il nome del calciatore, è impensabile che il Sig. Moreira non fosse a conoscenza dell’esistenza del calciatore all’epoca del deposito della domanda di registrazione del marchio contestato.


LEADERS LEAGUE 2019: LGV SI CLASSIFICA COME STUDIO LEGALE “LEADING” PER COPYRIGHT, TECHNOLOGIES, INTERNET E TELECOMMUNICATIONS E COME STUDIO D’ECCELLENZA NELLA LITIGATION IN MATERIA DI MARCHI E BREVETTI

29/05/2019

LGV viene confermato come studio legale “leading” per il diritto d’autore e per la categoria “Technologies, Internet and Telecommunications”, e come studio d’eccellenza nella litigation in materia di marchi e brevetti.

 

Leaders League – la società parigina che si occupa del rating degli studi professionali nei vari contesti nazionali – ha confermato il ranking di LGV nella categoria degli studi legali “leading” tra quelli italiani specializzati in diritto d’autore, internet e nuove tecnologie, con gli Avvocati Simona Lavagnini e Margherita Stucchi, nonché quale studio d’eccellenza per il contenzioso in materia di marchi e brevetti, con gli Avvocati Luigi Goglia, Simona Lavagnini e Tankred Thiem.

La guida aggiornata al 2019 tiene conto dell’altissima qualità del servizio offerto dallo studio relativamente al diritto d’autore e nuove tecnologie, nonché dell’attività svolta da LGV come litigator in materia di marchi e brevetti.

L’elevato posizionamento in questa prestigiosa directory rafforza ulteriormente la presenza e l’influenza di LGV nel contesto internazionale e riconosce allo studio un ruolo di rilevanza in un mercato globale sempre più competitivo. Per i dettagli si rinvia a: https://www.leadersleague.com/en/company-directory/lgv-avvocati/italy/technologies-internet-telecommunications-1?routingLanguage=en


LEADERS LEAGUE 2019: LGV CLASSIFIED AS “LEADING” LAW FIRM FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TMT AND AS A LAW FIRM OF EXCELLENCE IN LITIGATION IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARKS AND PATENTS

29/05/2019

LGV confirms its position as a leading law firm in the field of copyright and Technologies, internet & telecommunications category, and as a law firm of excellence in litigation in the field of trademarks and patents.

 

Leaders League, the French company that deals with rating professional firms in various national contexts, considers the high quality of service offered by the firm in relation to copyright and TMT, naming, for the second consecutive year, LGV as the leading law firm in the Intellectual Property category with lawyers Simona Lavagnini and Margherita Stucchi, as well as a firm of excellence for litigation on trademarks and patents, with lawyers Luigi Goglia, Simona Lavagnini and Tankred Thiem.

The guide updated to 2019, takes into account the high quality of the service offered by the firm in relation to copyright and new technologies, as well as the activity carried out by LGV as a litigator in the field of trademarks and patents.

LGV, once again, has achieved a high position in a prestigious legal ranking, thus confirming the presence and influence of the firm in the international context and its role of relevance in an increasingly competitive global market.

For more details seehttps://www.leadersleague.com/en/company-directory/lgv-avvocati/italy/technologies-internet-telecommunications-1?routingLanguage=en


LEADERS LEAGUE 2019: LGV CLASSIFIED AS “LEADING” LAW FIRM FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TMT AND AS A LAW FIRM OF EXCELLENCE IN LITIGATION IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARKS AND PATENTS

29/05/2019

LGV confirms its position as a leading law firm in the field of copyright and Technologies, internet & telecommunications category, and as a law firm of excellence in litigation in the field of trademarks and patents.

 

Leaders League, the French company that deals with rating professional firms in various national contexts, considers the high quality of service offered by the firm in relation to copyright and TMT, naming, for the second consecutive year, LGV as the leading law firm in the Intellectual Property category with lawyers Simona Lavagnini and Margherita Stucchi, as well as a firm of excellence for litigation on trademarks and patents, with lawyers Luigi Goglia, Simona Lavagnini and Tankred Thiem.

The guide updated to 2019, takes into account the high quality of the service offered by the firm in relation to copyright and new technologies, as well as the activity carried out by LGV as a litigator in the field of trademarks and patents.

LGV, once again, has achieved a high position in a prestigious legal ranking, thus confirming the presence and influence of the firm in the international context and its role of relevance in an increasingly competitive global market.

For more details seehttps://www.leadersleague.com/en/company-directory/lgv-avvocati/italy/technologies-internet-telecommunications-1?routingLanguage=en