Lawsuit in name dispute over Zurich-based TX Group dismissed
The Zurich-based media company TX Group can breathe a sigh of relief. In the dispute over the company name, the Federal Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by a solar tile manufacturer from Rapperswil-Jona, St. Gallen, that shares the same name. The court ruled that the lawsuit had been filed too late.
After more than a year, such a name entry can no longer be changed at the Federal Office for the Commercial Register, according to the reasoning published by the Federal Administrative Court in its ruling on Monday evening. The ruling is not yet legally binding.
The solar tile manufacturer had the name TX Group AG re-registered with the St. Gallen Commercial Register Office on December 19, 2019. One day later, the same was done at the Commercial Register Office in Zurich. In this case, it was the former Tamedia that had changed its name at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Plaintiff must pay almost 30,000 francs
The then Tamedia had announced its planned name change in a press release at the end of November 2019. However, the Zurich and St. Gallen commercial register offices were unaware of the virtually simultaneous registration of the name TX Group AG. Both authorities reported the name to the Federal Office for the Commercial Register in Bern.
In March 2021, the St. Gallen company claimed in Bern that it alone was entitled to the name TX Group AG. The Commercial Register Office should therefore ensure that the legal status is restored or it should issue a contestable injunction.
According to the ruling, the solar tile manufacturer, which was rejected by the Federal Administrative Court, must now pay CHF 7,500 in legal costs and also pay the TX Group media group CHF 22,000 in compensation. (SDA)
