Deutsche Post has won a partial victory in its long-running battle to retain exclusive use of the “Post” term in Germany amid growing competition and ahead of full postal liberalisation.
The German Patent and Trade Mark Office has rejected a petition by the international expressassociation BIEK, representing Deutsche Post competitors, to cancel the “Die Post” (“The Post”)trademark registered by Deutsche Post.
In its ruling, the authority said that although “Die Post” is a descriptive term the factthat it is clearly linked with Deutsche Post in the public mind justifies the trademark protection.Deutsche Post said that independent surveys found that well over 80% of respondents related theterm “Die Post” to Deutsche Post.
The ruling is especially significant in view of a case scheduled to be heard by the FederalPatent Tribunal this autumn, in which Deutsche Post is contesting the cancellation of itsregistered term “Post”. In December 2005, the Patent and Trade Mark Office ordered the “Post”trademark to be deleted from the list of registered trademarks. Competitors had claimed that “Post”was not a Deutsche Post trademark but a general service description. Several competitors have theword “Post” in their company names.
But the similarity between the terms “Post” and “Die Post” and the unambiguous ruling by thePatent and Trade Mark Office strengthens the company’s conviction that its interpretation of thelaw is correct, Deutsche Post said.
The economic significance of this dispute derives from the risk that, without adequateprotection of proprietary rights, Deutsche Post’s competitors can ride on the company’s coattails,appropriating the name without providing the quality and reliability with which it is associated.This would give them an undeserved competitive advantage, Deutsche Post commented.
