30.10.2008
Ferragamo Obtains Supreme Court Decision In South Korea
In a decision of October 9, 2008, the Korean Supreme Court held that an emblem on a shoe will be seen as an indication of origin and can infringe upon a similar trademark.
The Supreme Court upheld a decision of the Patent Court against Daeho Corp., a Korean shoe producer, which held the Korean company in violation of a trademark of luxury goods maker Ferragamo. Daeho’s appeal to the Supreme Court was unseccessful. The Korean shoe producer had used an emblem on shoes which the court judged similar enough to be mistaken for the logo of Ferragamo.
In a similar case, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favour of French luxury maker Louis Vuitton against a Korean handbag maker. The court held that the bags of the Korean company which were covered with an emblem consisting of the letters “L” and “V” with a square, circle, diamond and flower petal pattern, could without any doubt be confused with those of Louis Vuitton.
Both decisions seem to be simple applications of the common definition of what constitutes a trademark, so we cannot really concur with other Internet commentators heralding the “landmark character” of the Ferragamo decision.
On a side note, South Korea’s Trademark Law has been partially amended on July 1, 2007 expanding the range of possible trademarks to colour marks, hologram marks, motion marks and other types of visually perceivable objects as trademarks.
