In a November 12, 2012 decision involving two trademarks comprising representations of a shark, the Supreme Court of the Philippines discounted confusing similarity between them upon noting their “distinct visual and aural differences”.
In a November 12, 2012 decision involving two trademarks comprising representations of a shark, the Supreme Court of the Philippines discounted confusing similarity between them upon noting their “distinct visual and aural differences”.
An opposition proceeding was lodged by Great White Shark Enterprises, Inc, a multinational corporation headed by the Australian professional golfer Greg Norman, against a local, Danilo Caralde, on the basis of the company’s ‘Greg Norman’ logo consisting of a colour representation of a shark. The opposed mark comprised another representation of a shark formed by the letters constituting the word ‘shark’.
The Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) and the Office of the Director General (ODG) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines both found confusing similarity between the two marks. However, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court reversed this ruling.
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