Biscuity madness in South Africa
Cape Town – The cookie has crumbled for notorious biscuit manufacturer, Cape Cookies, who have been told they cannot trademark their SnackCrax biscuit brand as a “savoury biscuit” as it would cause confusion in the market with its competitor, Salticrax.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) recently upheld an appeal by National Brands Limited to not register the trademark for Snackcrax in class 30 relating to savoury biscuits.
National Brands opposed the application on various grounds based of the Trade Marks Act. One such ground was section 10 (17) of the act which prohibits the registration of “a mark which is identical or similar to a trade mark which is already registered and which is well-known in the Republic.
If the use of the mark sought to be registered would be likely to take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the registered trade mark, notwithstanding the absence of deception or confusion.”
More at https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/cape-cookies-trademark-attempt-crumbles-82c526be-c795-44f7-8305-a6c2e398bb0d
