Turkish PTO dismisses Armani’s Opposition in battle over “A”

The Turkish Patent & Trademark Office (Turkish PTO), on January 07, 2019 refused an Opposition filed by Giorgio Armani S.P.A. against an Indian Proprietor’s mark A AQA Natural Mineral Water (label) in Class 32. The Opposition was filed by the Opponent on the basis of their marks ACQUA ARMANI (device of A) in Class 32 and ARMANI/DOLCI (device of A) in Classes 29 and 30.

The images of the trademarks of the parties have been provided below:

Applicant's A AQA Natural Mineral Water (label) in class 32

Opponent's ACQUA ARMANI (device of A) in class 32

Opponent's ARMANI /DOLCI (device of A) in classes 29 & 30

The Opponent claimed similarity between the marks on the basis of presence of the letter “A” as a central figure as well as due to the presence of the word “ACQUA" in the Opponent's mark, as compared to the word AQA in the Applicant's mark. The grounds of Opposition were:

∙ similarity/likelihood of confusion;

∙ prior use of trademark;

∙ notoriety; and

∙ bad faith.

All the grounds of the Opposition were closely examined by the Turkish PTO and declared “unjust.” The Turkish PTO held that the Opponent’s marks were not similar to the Applicant’s mark, hence there existed no likelihood of confusion. Moreover, the Opponent failed to provide any use/sufficient evidence regarding use of its mark/s in Class 32. Hence, the Opposition was refused.