Napoleon and Champagne TMs refused

An individual entrepreneur filed an application for a trade mark Napoleon (application number 2007736513/50) which in itself seems strange. The entrepreneur resided in a far away town of Kirov, which is not known for any French connections. The entrepreneur was aware that Napoleon was a French emperor however he filed his application for the goods to be produced in Russia. The Patent Office refused the registration arguing that the word reproduces the name of a famous historic person, which may be a reason for misleading the Russian consumer with regard to the place of production of the products.

The applicant appealed the decision of the Patent Office to the Chamber of Patent Disputes. He argued that indeed the word Napoleon was the name of a French conqueror but that with time it has acquired a secondary meaning. It also designates a variety of apples and is the name of a cake. The word Napoleon in respect of furniture and drinks is semantically neutral.

The Chamber of Patent Disputes disagreed. It stated that the word Napoleon is the name of an outstanding French political person and general, the first Consul of the French Republic and the Emperor of France. So the Russian consumer, on hearing the word Napoleon, will always associate it with the French emperor. Hence, the designation Napoleon will always elicit associations with the emperor and the country where he was born and ruled. So, when the consumer evaluates a product designated by this name he will always perceive it as produced in France. Hence the conclusion that this designation is misleading for the Russian consumer is correct.

This decision of the Patent Office may only be praised and marked by a drink of the real French Champagne, which is recognized as the true French wine in Russia. This was confirmed by another decision of the Patent Office on Application No 2007712735/50 filed by the Pervy Vino-Vodochny Combinat (First Distillery of Vodkas and Wines). The Distillery filed for a label that included the words Russian and Champagne in Cyrillic. The Patent Office argued that the word Champagne, which is part of the designation, will mislead the Russian consumer with regard to the place of production of the product because the word Champagne is reminiscent of a historic region in the north of France.

The applicant argued that there was a State standard for Russian Champagne and suggested that the words Russian and Champagne should be disclaimed because they simply denote the kind of wines and have lost distinctive capability.

The Chamber of Patent Disputes again did not agree. It pointed out that the word Russian is often used by many Russian producers and means that the product has been produced in Russia, hence it is not protectable. The word Champagne means the wine that is produced in only one region of France. Other similar French wines are called Mousseaux.

Hence, the word Champagne may be used only in respect of the wines coming from the relevant region of France.

As we can see, the Russian Patent Office is meticulous in taking decisions that concern the names of famous persons and geographical denominations.