LG Düsseldorf: “Malle” as a trademark has legal status

By judgment of 29 November 2019, the 8th Chamber of Commercial Matters of the Regional Court of Düsseldorf ruled that the proprietor of the registered EU trade mark ‘Malle’ may prohibit party organisers from promoting and promoting parties with the designation ‘Malle’ without his consent. Organize.

Key Facts

Düsseldorf Regional Court ruled that the owner of the EU trademark Malle can prohibit parties without consent.
Over 100 proceedings were initiated against party organizers, but only a few defended themselves against the injunction.
The Malle brand has been registered with the EuIPO for party services since 2002.
Organizers were prohibited from advertising parties as Malle Party or similar names.
The legal validity of the Malle trademark remains intact despite the cancellation request since February 2019
"Malle auf Schalke" is indicative of origin and not merely descriptive, according to the regional court.
Risk of confusion between Malle and "Malle auf Schalke" was recognized by the court.

In more than 100 injunction proceedings, the proprietor of the EU trade mark ‘Malle’ had taken action against party organisers. Only some had opposed the injunctions. Now, for the first time, the Regional Court of Düsseldorf has ruled.

The “Malle” brand has been registered at euIPO in Alicante since 2002 for the services “Entertainment, Sporting and Cultural Activities, Party Organisation and Party Implementation”.

The proprietor of the trade mark had first warned the Malle Party organisers and then submitted corresponding injunction applications to the Regional Court of Düsseldorf. As a result, several organizers have been banned from referring to their entertainment events, which are celebrated with catchy music and alcoholic beverages like in Mallorca, as “Malle Party”, “Malle in the tent”, “Malle Break” or – as in the dispute 38 O 96/19 – “Malle auf Schalke”.

In its judgment of 29.11.2019, the 8th Chamber of Commercial Matters of the Regional Court of Düsseldorf stated that the EU trade mark ‘Malle’ for parties has legal basis in the context of the interim injunction proceedings carried out here. The trade mark ‘Malle’ is registered. The fact that the European Trade Mark Office in Alicante has had an application for the deletion of the ‘Malle’ trade mark for entertainment events since February 2019 does not alter the legal status of the trade mark. In particular, the trade mark is not manifestly incapable of protection. In order to do so, it would have to be established that, at the decisive time of registration in 2002, the designation ‘Malle’ was a geographical name for the island of Majorca and should not have been registered as a geographical name. However, the applicant did not sufficiently present this and made it credible in the interim injunction proceedings before the Landgericht Düsseldorf.

The designation of a party as “Malle auf Schalke” is also origin-indicating and not only descriptive. The consumers addressed by the party’s application recognize that the advertisement and the party have a connection to a particular organizer, sponsor or licensor of a series of events. Such a reference is missing, for example, in purely descriptive terms such as carnival party or Christmas party.

The Landgericht also considers that there would also be a risk of confusion if they see, on the one hand, the word mark ‘Malle’ of the trade mark owner and, on the other hand, the attacked sign of the party organiser ‘Malle auf Schalke’.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.