RusAutoNewsCom.- The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has encountered an interruption during the registration of the patent application of the Russian brand Aurus, as three major global brands – Toyota, Lamborghini and Michelin – immediately raised their protests on the matter.
As reported by Izvestiya newspaper, the representatives of the brands are of the opinion that Aurus is similar to the names their models, in terms of sound and spelling: Toyota Auris, Lamborghini Urus and Michelin Taurus. Interestingly, in the latter case – with Taurus – the issue is not even with the name of the car, simply referring to a line of automobile tyres. The fact that all the three models with similar sound and spelling had once managed to get registered can be taken as an argument in favour of the registration of Aurus. The experts on the “against” party, on the other hand, argue that Toyota, Lamborghini and Michelin are brands with history, however, Aurus is too much of a newcomer to compete with these giants on a global level.
However this confrontation is resolved and whose lawyers get the upper hand in the spheres of international law and patent science is the main question. Either the Russian brand will have to limit itself to the European markets, within which the necessary agreements have already been signed, or it will be necessary for Europe to rebrand Aurus and invent new names for their model ranges.
