Stage victory for Beiersdorf in the dispute over Nivea Blue
The trademark dispute over the "Nivea Blue" color owned by the German cosmetics company Beiersdorf is entering a new phase. On Thursday, the Federal Court of Justice overturned a ruling by the Federal Patent Court that had ordered the cancellation of the color trademark in question.
The case must be reopened before the Federal Patent Court, the trademark judges in Karlsruhe ruled on Thursday. The Federal Patent Court had applied too strict standards for the protection of the trademark. It is now to conduct a new survey to determine the percentage of consumers who automatically see the blue color as a "product identifier" of Beiersdorf. Beiersdorf has protected a dark blue shade with the designation "Pantone 280 C" for body and beauty care products since 2007.
Keep color tone clear
Competitor Unilever had applied for the trademark to be canceled. This special dark blue color had to be kept free for all competitors. The company produces cosmetics under the Dove brand, among others. Beiersdorf has now scored a stage victory with the legal appeal and can hope to be able to continue to claim the distinctive blue of its Nivea cream packaging for itself alone. Unilever counters that Beiersdorf uses the blue color "only purely decoratively as a packaging background" for the white Nivea lettering. Beiersdorf has had the term Nivea protected as a word mark - this is not being challenged in the dispute. The company claims that it uses the color blue as its "corporate color" for skin and body care products and also uses it in its advertising. (SDA)
