Luxembourg, 03/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The publisher Albert Rene, owner of the brand Asterix, is opposed to the registration of the brand name Starix held by the Italian company Trucco. It calls on the European Court of First Instance to annul the decision of the Trade Mark Office of Alicante that refused to take account of their opposition to the registration of Starix as Community trade mark.
The publishers Albert Rene oppose the registration of Starix as, they say, there is a risk of phonetic, visual and conceptual confusion between Asterix and Starix. The Trade Mark Office of Alicante does not agree and considers that nothing opposes the registration of Starix. Albert Rene calls on the Court of First Instance to annul the decision in favour of Starix rendered by the board of appeals of the Trade Mark office (an internal body to which the publishers Rene Albert had appealed).
For the board of appeal, there is no risk of confusion between Asterix and Starix: the letters "st" common to both brand names are followed by an "e" in one case and an "a" in the other which differentiate the brands. Starix calls to mind the English word "Star", Asterix refers to a French comic book. For the publishers Albert Rene, However, (the two first names of the fathers of Asterix), the Office has not taken account of what they believe to be the brand as a whole, i.e. with an oval that precedes the brand and that may be seen as O-Starix.
The company Trucco calls for the registration of its brand for the same category of products as those for which Asterix secured the protection of the brand; these are so-called classes 9 and 41 products which, more or less, cover electrical equipment, electronics, photographic and cinema equipment, electronic and video games, films, books, education, leisure and attraction parks.