OUR CLIENT’S MARKS	OPPONENT’S REGISTERED MARK

DAMASCUS – On 4 April 2019, we filed a trademark application on behalf of our client, Finansconsult Eood, for THE KING in class 34, which was assigned the serial number 2129.

The Examiner issued a decision to refuse our application due to its similarity with the registered trademark KING number 122438 in class 34 under the name of N.V. SUMATRA TOBACCO.

We filed an appeal to the said decision supported by a cancellation action against the cited mark based on the following:

• The owner of KING number 122438 has not been using the trademark since its filing date i.e. for more than 3 years, which makes the registration eligible for cancellation;
• Our client has prior worldwide registrations of their brand THE KING in class 34;
• Our client’s mark is widely used in Syria, neighbouring countries, and worldwide;
• Our client is seeking protection for its brand due to its popularity, and
• Due to the above, our client’s brand, THS KING, has become a well-known mark.

The Examiner, considering the facts raised in our argument and the evidence in hand, issued its decision to cancel the registration of KING number 122438 and allow our application to publish in the Official Gazette.

For more information, please contact syria@qumsieh.com.

REGISTERED MARK

PENDING MARK

THE KING

KING

ERBIL – Our client, Finansconsult LLC, is the legal owner of the registered trademark THE KING in class 34 in Kurdistan of Iraq since September 2011.

It came to our attention that a similar application for KING was filed in Kurdistan of Iraq in 18 April 2016 under number 3138 and was published on 17 May 2016 the Official Gazette number 68, subject for the opposition period of 90 days.

On behalf of our client, we filed an opposition against said application based on the following:

• Prior registration of our client’s trademark in the Kurdish trademark registry since 23 September 2011;
• Similarity of the infringing trademark with our client’s trademark in terms of pronunciation, general appearance, and covered class, and
• Prior use of our client’s trademark in Kurdistan of Iraq and worldwide.

The Kurdish Trademark Office considered our statement and issued a decision in favour of our client, to remove the subject trademark application from the registry.

For more information, please contact iraq@qumsieh.com.