Germany: FIFA suffers brand defeat
In the dispute over the exclusive marketing rights to the World Cup, FIFA, the world soccer governing body, has suffered a defeat at the hands of the German Federal Court of Justice.
In the dispute over the exclusive marketing of the Football World Cup, the Football Association Fifa has suffered a defeat at the hands of the German Federal Court of Justice. The court completely rejected trademark protection for the "2006 FIFA World Cup" brand. Fifa can now no longer protect the official World Cup sponsors from other companies using this trademark for advertising purposes. With regard to the "WM 2006" trademark, the Federal Court of Justice ordered a new examination by the Federal Patent Court and referred the legal dispute between FIFA and the plaintiff Ferrero back to the lower court. Advertisers in Germany now have the option of advertising with the "Fussball WM 2006" trademark, taking into account the European Community trademarks that FIFA can still invoke.
