Tria Robit, working on behalf of Italian undertaking Ferrero S.P.A., has successfully opposed the international registrations by Ukrainian undertaking Dochirnie pidpryiemstvo "Kondyterska korporatsiia Roshen" with the word "Roshen" in them – subsequently designated to Latvia – on the basis that they created a likelihood of confusion with Ferrero's earlier international "Ferrero Rocher" figurative trademark registration and improperly imitated a well-known trademark.
On December 2, 2016 the Board of Appeals of the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia heard the appeal, and after examining the case materials, found that they were not confusingly similar according to Article 7 part 1 paragraph 2 of the Trademark Act, but found that, under Article 8, there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the "Ferrero Rocher" trademarks were well-known among Latvian consumers before the designation date of the contested international trademark registrations, and thus agreed "that the dominant element of the contested marks 'Roshen' may be perceived as an imitation of well-known mark 'Ferrero Rocher'."
According to Tria Robit, "in accordance with above-mentioned, the Board of Appeals decided to satisfy oppositions filed by ... Ferrero S.P.A. against [the challenged] international trademarks registrations ... and dismiss international trademark registrations protection in Latvia."
The Tria Robit team was led by Senior Lawyer Bronislavs Baltrumovics.
