Third Party Use of Trade-mark Permitted by ECJ if the Use Necessary and Honest

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently held that The Gillette Company (Gillette) could not prevent a competing manufacturer of razor blades from holding out to consumers that its blades were compatible with a particular brand of razor manufactured by Gillette. In The Gillette Company v LA-Laboratoies Ltd Oy, the ECJ found that the third party (LA-Laboratoies) had no option but to refer to the Gillette product by brand name in telling consumers that its blades were compatible both with its own razor and with the relevant Gillette razor. However, the Court specified that such a use had to be an honest one. A dishonest use of the trade-mark would arise if the impression was given of a commercial link with the rights owner, or if it affected the value of or discredited the trade-mark, or if the third party's product seemed like an imitation of the product being referred to. For a discussion of the case, visit: http://makeashorterlink.com/?V685257CA For the complete text of the ECJ reasons for judgment, see: http://makeashorterlink.com/?C4B5237CA Summary by: Hung Nguyen