Havel & Partners has successfully represented Apple in a dispute with the President of the Czech Republic's Industrial Property Office involving the trademark for the company's "Think Different" slogan in the Czech Republic.
According to Havel & Partners, the slogan "THINK DIFFERENT" has been associated with Apple since 1997, when founder Steve Jobs returned to the company.
According to Havel & Partners, the current dispute arose from the Industrial Property Office's assessment of the similarity of the Apple trademark to the "Tick different" trademark of the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch, and the IPO's conclusion that there was no likelihood of confusion. That conclusion was then upheld on review by the President of the Office.
The decision of the President of the Office was subsequently challenged by Apple, which claimed that "the Office [had] erred in its assessment of the similarity of the slogans and that the application for registration of Swatch's "Tick different" trademark was not filed in good faith, was interchangeable with Apple’s trademarks, and thus unlawfully benefited from the reputation of Apple as a company having the world’s most valuable trademark."
According to the firm, the Municipal Court in Prague annulled the decision of the President of the Office, with "the court taking the view that the [Industrial Property] Office had insufficiently dealt with the assessment of the similarity of the conflicting trademarks," and "should therefore re-examine the whole matter and make an overall assessment of the likelihood of confusion."
The Havel & Partners team representing Apple consisted of Partners Frantisek Korbel and Ivan Rames, Counsel Katerina Stankova, and Senior Associate Tereza Hrabakova.