Protecting Your Assets: L'Oréal v. Bellure

Evie Kyriakides, Senior Marketing Property Manager and Regional Trademark Counsel,, Mars, Incorporated, United Kingdom

In what may be the most significant case for brands and trade marks in the last five years, the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) issued a decision in June in a case referred from the English Court of Appeal: L'Oréal v. Bellure. This is a landmark case that confirms that brand owners should have a legal right to prevent egregious look-alikes that intentionally trade off the brand image established by the brand owner, and sets much clearer limits on the boundaries of unlawful behaviour.

Mars Incorporated From its humble beginnings in the Tacoma, Washington kitchen of Frank Mars, Mars, Incorporated has grown into a company of global scope with six business segments including Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley Gum and Confections, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience, generating annual revenues of $30 billion. As a family-owned company for nearly a century, we are guided by our Five Principles: Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. We continually strive to put our Principles in Action in everything we do: making a difference to people and the planet through performance.